Naruto: Wild Hunt
by TheWriteFiction
Summary: What if the Conjunction of the Spheres took place in the Naruto world, forever altering the future of those inhabiting it? In the present, a young Naruto- dubbed the Butcher of Tanzaku Quarters- is a renowned and highly skilled monster hunter of the School of the Fox, one trained to slay monsters and beasts no shinobi would dare face. [Naruto/Witcher Crossover]
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:** If anyone hasn't figured it out by my **Naruto: Maoyu** fanfiction, I'm a raging fan of both **Fate/Grand Order** and **The Witcher 3- Wild Hunt.** This should've been made very apparent from the way I included not only Historical Characters into the Naruto universe, but Japanese mythological monsters.

About two or three years ago I wrote this prologue and premise based on the Witcher 3- this was back when I was playing the hell out of the game and putting in more than 300 hours into it. I wrote this fic because I thought a _**Naruto X Witcher 3 Crossover**_ would be cool. But I never published this fic because I didn't think the idea was well-fleshed out and people wouldn't read it.

But then the _**Witcher**_ Season 1 came out on Netflix, and my love for the game and the Witcher lore was reignited once again. After browsing through my old stories on my hard-drive, I came across _this_, so I decided to post it to see where I can take it. It's also a way for me to keep in touch with fanfiction while I'm doing my comics.

I'd put this story aside for two years, but with some re-working I think I can make something out of the concept.

**The Conjunction of the Spheres** taking place in the Naruto world- in which Japanese monsters and other beasts of myth appear in the Naruto world- and the only people that can stop them are Jinchuriki (aka Witchers). Seems legit…

* * *

**NARUTO**

_**Wild Hunt**_

_Prologue_

_(Night)_

_(So no Kuni)_

_For the past couple of weeks, the late hours that came over __**So no Kuni**__ (Land of Ancestors) at the end of every day had been, for the most part, quiet and uneventful. The peaceful, wide open farmlands and untouched wildernesses that dominated the countryside beyond, stretched far beneath the glittering veil of the night sky- broken every so often by the occasional village and winding rivers. Across this green, serene landscape, not a single creature or person stirred, save for the crickets chirping away in the undergrowth and the gentle rustling of bushels from the light breeze that drifted in from the east._

_And, amidst all the quiet and tranquillity of the region, inside the walls of the large estate known by everyone as the home of the Emperor of So, Tenji, a lone figure stood silent and watchful._

_Her skin- smooth and white as the robes that adored her, her face- beautiful and fair as the glow of the moon, and her hair- long and glittering like silver water, Kaguya Otsutsuki- the newest visitor to this ancient land, waited out her hours out under the tapestry of starlight. Her gaze, though blank and devoid of base emotion, remained transfixed upon the heavens above her and the ocean of tiny lights that dominated the pitch black of space._

_From where she stood, the strange, pale woman could see every single ember and glint that stretched across her part of the sky. Though many of the lights were absent of name and worlds boasting any form of life, Kaguya was still able to recognize all the constellations before her._

_With no other lights radiating from the Earth and polluting the atmosphere, the view of space was made that much clearer to her and the people who occupied this nation. Were Kaguya's thoughts not troubled by other matters and concerns, she would be able to enjoy the view and bask in its beauty._

_As she stood there, listening to the crickets singing away in her pond, she felt something warm and fluffy drape over her shoulders. Her concentration broken, Kaguya glanced over to see the smiling face of the Emperor of So no Kuni- Tenji- smiling back at her._

"_You're standing out here by yourself again?" the man asked in a kindly voice, his hands moving from her shoulders from where he'd laid the kimono over her. "Can't sleep?"_

_Not reacting beyond a blink, the white-eyed woman turned her eyes back to the stars before her. "No."_

_A frown then fell over the youthful man's face. "If there's something troubling you, you can tell me. You know I'll always be here to lend you an ear if something's weighing on your mind."_

_Remaining silent for but a moment as her eyes remained locked on the glittering blanket of stars crossing her line of sight, Kaguya then decided to give Tenji her answer. "Even if I was to lay my troubles over you, there wouldn't be anything you or anyone else can do. The burdens that I carry are mine and mine alone to deal with." When she turned and noticed the slightly taken aback and hurt look that'd come over her lover's face, the white-haired princess blinked. "Sorry."_

_Taking a deep breath, Tenji put on a smile again. "That's okay. I should know by now that there are some things about you that are a mystery to us humans. Perhaps they might be things that neither of us will be able to understand. After all, you come from up __**there**__… from amongst the stars," the Emperor replied, gesturing up towards the cosmos above. When he turned to gaze up at the heavens, Kaguya's gaze joined his, leading to the two of them standing side by side and staring up into space. "It must be amazing, living amongst all those floating lights. I can only imagine what kind of wonders are ."_

"_Mm…" Kaguya murmured, responding to the man's remark as he gently wrapped an arm around her back. In response, the woman reached up with her hand and gingerly laid it against his arm._

_When the thought of space and home touched Tenji's mind, the young man blinked before glancing down at the white-haired beauty resting against him. "I've been meaning to ask you, Kaguya… what is the world you come from like? And your people?"_

_A little bit caught off guard by the sudden query, Kaguya glanced across at the country's ruler to see his inquisitive gaze fixed upon her. Staring back into his wide, glimmering eyes, the woman felt her mind race at a mile a minute while her expression remained stoic and unflinching. Following a full minute of debate, the woman suddenly turned her eyes towards the ground- for the first time since she came out here over an hour ago._

"_The world… the planet that I come from… is not like this one," Kaguya replied in a low voice, though her tone was calm and unwavering. "Our lands are wide, grey and barren, the sky is black and endless… yet the village that dwells on it boasts aesthetic beauty no other world bears. The soil is pure… as are the people… and everyone treats one another with the utmost respect and reverence… especially those of the main family."_

_Tenji, feeling he was finally making some headway in learning about his lover, beamed across at her with excitement. "Are your people friendly? Do they share the same desire for peace as you do?"_

_Kaguya, looking across at Tenji once more with her unwavering gaze, suddenly felt her brow crease as her eyes narrowed. It was the first time the emperor saw the woman's unflappable visage warp during a simple conversation, which caused him to balk slightly at the level of intensity he suddenly felt come over her._

"_No."_

_Stumped by the woman's incredibly sharp response to his query, Tenji felt his lips shut tight and a cold child run down his neck, causing him to inhale stiffly. At first not knowing how to respond to Kaguya's single-worded answer, the man was left for a moment to wonder over what kind of people the white-haired beauty referred to as her own._

_Were they the reason why she came to this planet in the first place? Was she sent here by them to negotiate or to scout this planet as a potential habitat? Or did she come here of her own accord- to find another race of people who thought like she did? Or was it to leave the tight grip of her people?_

_To escape?_

_Many questions started revolving around Tenji's head over the reasons why Kaguya truly came to their world. During which time, the man couldn't help but allow his gaze to momentarily stray towards the giant tree he could see protruding from the mountains in the distance. The great monolith, which had been standing on the doorstep of his nation for the last several millennia and continuously casting an ominous shadow over his land, struck some sort of nerve inside of him. A nerve which caused his expression to momentarily steel._

_After allowing his thoughts to stir for some moments over the mystery as to his beloved's motives, Tenji quickly looked back up towards the sky and breathed deeply. "I…"_

_Unfortunately, the young Emperor was not given time to begin his remark. For as soon as he uttered that syllable, a sudden flash of bright light suddenly filled the sky. The anomaly, which sent a ripple effect of bright embers rushing across the atmosphere in all directions like an explosion, caused both Tenji and Kaguya to stare up at the heavens in surprise._

_At first there was nothing but silence- the sight of the flash causing Tenji to freeze up while Kaguya reflexively backed into his arm and grip the man's sleeve. But then, seconds after seeing the wave of bright, white light rush over the heavens and distort the veil of lights twinkling above it, in the distance the pair saw a white layer of clouds rise from the other side of the mountains._

_The __**Shinju**__ (God Tree), which had previously been standing firm and unmoving against the harsh weathers of the world for the last millennia, suddenly bucked like a tiny bushel from the clouds that crashed into it from behind. As its leaves scattered, the wall of white rolled down the mountain ranges and into the valley below. Moments later, the fast-moving, thick wall of white rolled over the sweeping countryside of So no Kuni, growing closer and closer towards both Tenji and Kaguya, before eventually crashing headlong into their estate._

_What followed immediately after the palace was swallowed up by the wall of white was a deafening howl, as what felt like a hurricane gale slammed into the two lovers, sending the pair stumbling back like a couple of startled apes. Both Tenji and Kaguya cried out in alarm as they were almost knocked off their feet by the sheer force of the blast, which sent waves and waves of perspiration and debris into them and over their home._

_The sounds of terrified villagers in the neighbouring buildings being struck by the sudden tsunami of clouds were drowned out by the piercing howl of a cyclone, with only the sounds of deep explosions and the crashing of wood being the only foreign noises echoing above the storm. When Tenji and Kaguya attempted to open their eyes against the forces blasting them in the face, they were both reduced to a painful squint, as they could barely see what was going on two feet in front of them thanks to the sting of the wind crashing into their faces._

"_Ngh… w-what's… going on?" Tenji cried out, unable to catch anything through the fog as it continued to charge into them like a herd of stampeding cattle._

_As the temperature around the pair dropped like a stone, Kaguya, unwilling to stand against this freak blizzard for any longer than she had to, focused her closed eyes on the space before her and activated her Byakugan. With a grunt, she unleashed a flash of light from her eyes that sent a shockwave-like blast ripping into the raging hurricane, which helped her to part the clouds and clear the air around the estate. Her sudden expulsion of energy seemed to do the trick, for as soon as the rolling clouds cleared- leaving a hole in the centre of the mass- both she and Tenji were able to stand once again._

_As the pair straightened themselves up into more dignified stances, the two of them began to scan the area about them. Though the wind continued to howl at a deafening rate and snow had begun cascading around them, both the emperor and his lover found themselves in awe at what was going on._

_From horizon to horizon their view was obstructed by a heavy layer of continuously moving clouds barrelling across the countryside, which swallowed up the neighbouring villages and farmlands. The condensed, murky vapours poured over the countryside, sending snow cascading all around and rapidly covering the once green fields in a carpet of white. It was an almost surreal sight- the two of them standing in what was best described as the eye of the storm separated by Kaguya's extra-terrestrial abilities, while everything else around them ended up being swamped by a tsunami-like nebula._

_Tenji, startled by the extreme and unexpected change in weather, looked around in alarm. "What is this? Do you know what's happening, Kaguya?"_

_The white-haired beauty, also doing an about turn and narrowed her eyes, "This cold… it is not of this world."_

_Her response had Tenji glance across at her. "Huh… you mean… this weather is coming from-"_

_Before the emperor could finish his question, Kaguya's eyes widened when something else jumped up on her extra-sensory radar. Energy spiking, the woman spun around and looked up towards the sky, where she noticed the starry sky- warped by the earlier explosion of light- distort and shimmer like a sheet of water. From it, the extra-terrestrial proceeded to watch as multiple black spots suddenly started opening across the veil, each one wreathed in orange or blue flames that seemed to burn with unnatural embers._

_Like a sheet of paper burning in several spots, the anomalies widened and stabilized, before suddenly beginning to expel gusts of snow laden winds. And from them, Kaguya and later Tenji noticed hundreds upon thousands of black, winged creatures of various sizes start to pour out of the holes to fill the skies._

_While the emperor appeared taken aback at the sight of what looked like giant reptiles, bats, and other creatures begin filling the swirling skies, Kaguya- for the first time since her arrival on this world- appeared the most startled. Eyes wide and mouth agape, the woman took a shaky step back._

_Her Byakugan activated, she was able to see more and more black holes beginning to open. But thanks to the storm and clouds blocking out most of the surrounding country, she was unable to count how many were opening. The only ones she could see were those appearing above her where the clouds were clear._

_Whatever the case, the results horrified her._

"_A spatial distortion…" Kaguya said in a low voice- low enough that Tenji was barely able to make out any of her words. "The barriers between dimensions… they've been perforated."_

_But how? Why? An event of this scale and magnitude taking place in their world was unheard of, unless…_

_The woman then blinked as she then fixed her eyes on the space above her, where she began analysing the planets in this sector to ascertain the cause of this catastrophe. Narrowing her gaze on the sky as her eyes darted about in a frantic pace, the princess of white spent the next minute searching for an answer… ANY answer to explain what the hell was going on._

_Unfortunately, neither she nor Tenji were able to dawdle contemplating for long. For as soon as creatures started pouring into the sky through the rifts to the world, a loud bang and the sound of crackling fire exploded nearby. Their eyes snapping across the estate, both Kaguya and her human partner noticed several more singularities open on the other side of the wall- with one bursting open in the very garden they were standing in._

_The singularity appeared for but a moment. A split second before it faded, a fog poured out, along with what the pair at first thought was a very tall, slender human. However, as soon as the creature stumbled out of the rift, it almost immediately lurched forward, scanned the vicinity about it, and locked its two black, hollow eyes on them._

_Tenji and Kaguya would've screamed in horror had they not accidentally backed up into each other's arms, because the thing they were gazing at was not like anything they'd ever seen before. What stood before them and glaring them could only be described as a corpse- a thin, lanky, deformed humanoid with sickly, green skin, bony build, curled, elongated fingers, pointed ears, coals for eyes, and a jaw lined with rows of razor sharp fangs- one poised next to the other._

_It was like a creature that'd stepped right out of a person's worst nightmare. However, the most horrifying thing about it- aside from everything that was already described- was the fact that its chest cavity was ripped open, exposing not only its rib cage but a furrow that would normally be holding its organs… only there weren't any. Whatever was allowing this thing to breathe, stand, and glare at them with murderous intent… just didn't seem to exist with this thing. It was almost like some sort of zombie._

_Like before, nor Kaguya nor Tenji had time to contemplate what kind of horrid monstrosity had appeared before them, for as soon as the portal closed behind it, the creature gave a loud snarl and started towards them at a high-paced stride._

_While Tenji reached for his obi and grabbed his knife, Kaguya promptly nudged him aside, stepped forward, and glared at the beast. "Begone, fiend!" she shouted, before another flash of light occurred from her and she unleashed a shockwave towards it- one with enough force to eviscerate an entire group of soldiers armed with spears._

_However, when the blast of wind she let loose struck the towering beast stomping towards them, not only did it not do anything, it only caused it to lurch back and stumble. When it eventually padded to a stop along the grass, digging its clawed talons into the floor, the green devil let out a snarl before, much to Kaguya and Tenji's surprise, it vanished in a puff of mist._

_Both lovers standing on the lawn balked when they saw the creature fade into fog, which covered the area behind it before beginning to stretch over the whole garden. When it disappeared, both began searching the area, hurriedly attempting to track where the beast had vanished._

"_An illusion?" Tenji uttered, guessing that what the thing Kaguya had attacked was just a mirage._

_Kaguya, her Byakugan wide and active, attempted to pierce the mist surrounding them to find the monstrosity that'd been charging them. After several moments of searching, the extra-terrestrial woman was hit with a rather alarming realization. "I… I can't see it…" she whispered, having counted on her clan's famed dōjutsu to be able to seek out the cretin. But for some reason, the beast's form, mass, and chakra signature had just disappeared into thin air._

_Actually… judging from what she was able to make of it… she didn't think this thing was even using chakra. Whatever energy it was using… her Byakugan couldn't identify it. It wasn't even registering to her._

_While Kaguya was scanning the garden in front of them, the mist around the couple had unexpectedly thickened and filled the air above them. As a result of the vapor becoming denser, the princess was unable to see the fog behind her manifest into a body, before the creature that'd been stalking towards them rematerialized- its clawed hand drawn back for a strike._

_Tenji however, keeping an eye on their backs, spotted the thing emerge from the mist and gasped. "KAGUYA-CHAN!"_

_The white-haired beauty spun around at her lover's shout of warning to see the Foglet lunge at her with its claw, which swung down at her from a high angle- too close for her to avoid. A gasp of fright left Kaguya's lips- the woman swinging her arms up to defend herself. However, just when she thought she was about to get sliced right down the centre by the beast, she suddenly felt her body get knocked aside as Tenji, out of pure reflex, leapt at her and pushed her out of the way._

_The sound of flesh tearing followed by a bloodcurdling cry filled the air as the young emperor felt the beast's claw slice right into his back, drawing four blood marks over his flesh and sending a spray of blood across the ground. A second later, both he and Kaguya hit the ground together, with him on top of her and a stunned princess lying beneath him._

"_T-Tenji-san!" Kaguya cried out, looking down to see her lover's wounded face hovering just above her._

_Peering up through one eye, the clearly pained man clenched his teeth and whispered to her, "Kaguya-chan… run!" he gasped, before his gaze suddenly snapped around and up._

_When the pair turned their eyes back to the demon, they saw the mist-shrouded Foglet stomp towards them- its fingers curled in front of it and its maw wide open in a show of menace. A low snarl leaving its teeth, the creature, moving till it was practically towering over the two humanoids, draw back its left arm and prepared to finish them both off in one stroke._

_Seeing its claws bear, both Tenji and Kaguya shut their eyes tight, with the young emperor ducking down and shielding his lover with his body._

_A split second later, the Foglet struck…_

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

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**Author's Note:** According to Witcher lore, the Conjunction of the Spheres took place some 1500 years before the start of the main story. Aligning this with Naruto's timeline, I wrote it to take place when Kaguya first came to Earth and before she ate from the fruit of the Shinju.

In this variation, chakra will still be a part of this world, but it is an entirely separate entity from "Chaos" or "Magic". So you have this interesting event where chakra and magic are mixing together, but they mix together just as well as water and oil does, so there's going to be conflict.

By the time the present rolls along, Naruto will serve as the "Geralt of Rivia" of this world- a monster hunter who uses the power of both Kaguya AND magic to fight and slay monsters, making him both a jinchuriki and a mutant. As it will later be revealed there are pros and cons to this.

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**Beastiary**

**Foglet (aka Ignis Fatuus)**

_"Careful, sir, a monster prowls the bog. Enter the mist and ye'll never see home again!"_  
_– Leslav, peat digger__The monster that appeared and attacked both a fledgling Kaguya and Tenji turned out to be an ancient foglet. These are exceptionally long-lived creatures - some have even lived for over two hundred years, growing stronger and stronger all the while. Blows dealt by foglets of such an age carry so much power blocking them is out of the question. These foglets possess the ability to move extremely quickly, and not even trapping spells like Yrden or shock waves can slow them down. Furthermore, they can meld completely into the mist, then suddenly rematerialize to strike from behind. Wearing heavy armor or making good use of the Quen Sign is highly recommended.__This ancient foglet proved particularly adept in the art of forming illusions. Only a professional monster slayer skilled with Signs and swords could best such a foe._


	2. Academy Arc- Butcher of Tanzaku Quarters

**Author's Note:** And now… it is time for The Witcher… Naruto Style!

Some monsters in this story you will be familiar with, whereas others are taken out of Japanese mythology. I found that a lot of the monsters in Witcher 3 actually cross over really well with Japanese mythology. That's the beauty of fantasy. It works all kinds of wonders.

* * *

**NARUTO**

_**Wild Hunt**_

_Butcher of Tanzaku Quarters_

(Over a millennia later)

(Land of Fire)

It was early dawn and, across the glittering rice fields surrounding the outskirts of a small village just off the main highway across the region, a single figure could be seen wandering the grounds. With the sun rising steadily over the distant mountains, the shadow cast by the individual was long and grand, made even more impressive from the distance they stood. However, when following the shade back to its owner wallowing knee-deep in clear water, it came as quite a surprise to see that it didn't belong to some farmer or soldier… but a boy of only eleven years of age.

Wading through the mud in a pair of black, shin-high sandal boots, black tracker trousers that'd seen far better days, an orange jacket with black trim and accented sleeves covering a pair of black gloves, and a brown, warrior shawl around his neck that hung over his chest- concealing a series of leather bandoleers and belts crossing his torso- and protected by a pair of black samurai spaulders sewn into the shoulders. Along with the silver, Fox-shaped pendant hanging around his neck, the boy also carried two, sheathed katana strapped to a red obi wrapped around his waist- one of which was encrusted with silver and decorated by various kanji markings, and a second steel one with a fox mark.

Aside from his warrior getup, the child stood out quite a bit from the regular crowd due to his blonde, spiky hair, two long bangs hanging in front of his ears on both sides of his face, and the incredibly noticeable scars over his left eyebrow and right cheek. Were that not enough, he also had three whisker marks drawn on his cheeks too, both of which looked like he'd been born with them.

Despite bearing so many old injuries, the young man didn't seem at all bothered by them. In fact, based on his appearance and the way he appeared to carry himself, he was used to standing out from the crowd.

After all, it not only gave him more prestige in his line of work, but also allowed him to carry out his jobs without being interrupted… _mostly_. Which of course brings us to his current predicament.

Red eyes scanning the area in front of him, the child continued to push his way through the water at a cautious pace- all the while keeping all his senses open to his surroundings. As his boots pushed through the water, he was watched from the shore by what appeared to be a small, orange fox- one who bore a single tail and a pair of red eyes that looked almost identical to the boy's.

Tail swishing back and forth behind it, the tiny fox tilted its head before, after breathing deeply, speaking in a surprisingly feminine sounding voice. "I think you missed a spot, gaki."

Gaze narrowing, the scarred blonde shot the kitsune a look. "Not now, Kurama. I'm trying to concentrate."

When the tiny fox saw Naruto return his gaze to the water ahead, the little vixen huffed. "It's not like you to take this long searching for clues," the fox remarked, ears twitching as she observed the boy wade a few more paces forward. "Seriously, if you spend any more time swimming around out there, you're going to start shrivelling up."

A snicker left the boy's lips as he glanced across at the tiny furball watching him from the road. "You know… you're more than welcome to come in and search through this pond with me. Bury your nose in the mud… get your fur and tail a little bit dirty," Naruto called out as he took another step forward, all the while brushing his foot along the bottom of the rice paddy to feel through the shoots and mud.

Kurama, smirking, then turned her tiny snout away and huffed. "No thanks. I'm good here."

Shaking his head at the pout the little kitsune gave him, Naruto chuckled, "That's what I thought." Stopping in his tracks, the boy then crouched down close to the water and brushed his gloved hand over a series of rice plants poking out of the water, all of which looked suspiciously blackened and iridescent under his gaze.

From a distance, this observation would've gone completely unnoticed by ordinary individuals. But thanks to Naruto's skills and specially honed adaptations, this was not a problem for him.

Narrowing his eyes as he scanned the patch before him and noticing that some of the partly submerged grass blades were emitting a feint red glow from their leaves, he then reached into the water and plucked one of the plants out. Upon which Naruto began to analyse the green more closely.

Noticing the boy straighten up and fondle the grass he'd yanked out of the pond, Kurama blinked. "Found something?" the little fox asked curiously.

Running his hand over the stalks and brushing away the red embers, Naruto then rubbed his fingers as he watched the lights fade. "Hm. Faint traces of ghost fire. All concentrated around a single spot. Interesting," he said, before then holding the grass blade close and sniffing it.

Ghost fire was a magical element used by certain types of magical beings and monsters- beasts that'd entered this world from another over a millennia ago. Not only was this element difficult to produce and able to bypass almost all physical defences, it was also difficult to extinguish and left a very peculiar energy fingerprint that was very hard to pick up by ordinary trackers- emphasizing just how complex the flame was.

Kurama blinked before narrowing her gaze thoughtfully. "Ghost fire? A yokai?"

"Possibly," Naruto thought, playing around with the rice plant for a moment longer before then tossing it aside. He then pushed his boot through the spot where the burned grass blades were still standing. "It was a warning shot. Judging from the spread of the blast, whatever attacked the farmers must've been shooting from up high. Wanted them to scatter."

Determined to confirm his theory, Naruto then waded out of the rice field and moved up onto the path elevated above the pond and dividing it from the next one. As he gave his red, slitted eyes a better vantage point of the area, he spied several black, luminous patches scattered over the farmland, including a couple burned areas on solid ground outside of the pools. Crouching down on the mound he'd hopped onto, the child with the two swords then did some mental math as his fox companion trotted over to him.

"So… if I'm remembering this right, about four weeks ago the villagers in the area said that some massive, winged creature covered in feathers had come down from the forest, attacked them, and carried off one of the cows they were using to toil their fields," the fox spoke, recalling the information passed to them by the man that'd hired her human companion. "After two more attacks, the village elder hired a team of shinobi from _Konohagakure_ to try and track it down. Yet after four days, none of them have returned."

Naruto frowned, "Idiots. Did they seriously think a team of ninja would be able to hunt down and kill a monster? Especially one as aggressive as this?"

"The farmers must've been desperate," Kurama answered, sitting down beside the boy as he continued to inspect the vicinity. "Considering how far out they live from any large trading posts or stations… do you think they receive visits from _**Ryōshi **_often? I don't think so."

"Hmm… fair point," Naruto answered, promptly adjusting the two katana at his side and standing up. "But I'm here now, dattebayo… and I guess it's up to me to clean up this mess."

From there, after allowing the cat sized Kurama to hop up onto his shoulder, the blonde swordsman then proceeded to march around the rice fields. Keeping a close and guarded eye on the perimeter as he performed a wide sweep of the area surrounding the rice paddies, the blonde scanned both the trees and the grass for something- _anything_\- to give him further clues as to where the monster he was tracking had gone.

Considering the size of the area he was searching and the fact that a lot of the ground he'd been searching had been submerged in water, it certainly wasn't an easy task by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it would've been downright impossible were he not so sharp.

After a few minutes of searching the forest edge along the roadside, the child's sandals then ground to a stop when he spotted something on the dirt road in front of him. Kneeling, he ran a hand over the ground, gently scraping over a patch of blackened earth and rubbing his fingers together.

"Dried blood…" Naruto mumbled, before it against his tongue, tasting it, and spitting it out. "Cow blood. The monster carried it off this way." Noticing the splatter trail leading into the woods, the boy stood up and eyed the terrain up ahead carefully. "The nest must be up in the hills."

While Kurama sat silently and comfortably atop her charge's shoulder, she watched as the youngster moved off the beaten path and into the wilderness- pushing past the initial brush and into the woods. As they began making their way through the trees and the farmland that they'd been searching faded into the foliage behind them, Naruto started noticing more and more of the same cow blood splattered in multiple places.

Though the marks were thin and barely noticeable due to it having cascaded through the canopy of the forest above, Naruto was still able to follow the trail due to the unique signature the blood was emitting, which he was able to pick up through the lenses of his gaze. His wolf-like eyes, enhanced by the strange, reddish glow emanating from his irises, allowed him to focus in on certain clues, illuminate them, isolate them and its siblings from the rest of the surroundings, and then follow them to its source.

It was like a form of aura tracking- a sort of sixth sense that was special for his kind. It was what allowed members of his kin to find clues no one else could and is what made Naruto so good at his job.

Anyway, after crossing a terrain covered from end to end in boulders, tree roots, and various other obstacles that meant the blonde was forced into an impromptu hike for the better part of a half hour, the child then hit a dirt path that started taking him up a large hill through a gradually thinning wood. Taking to it like a horse to a course, Naruto carried on at his leisure, his footsteps making not a sound as he practically crept through the undergrowth of the hilly territory.

After some following the naturally formed route, the blonde then stopped when he spotted something else poking out of the grass. Frowning as he approached it, Naruto then bent down, picked it up, and brought the offending object to eye level.

When Kurama saw what her partner had found, the fox tilted her head. "A feather?"

"Yeah," Naruto said, running a finger over the stiff bristles and measuring it- estimating it to be about four feet long. "A big one." Rolling it over and analysing the pattern along the bony shaft, the child felt his stomach tense as he hit upon a sudden realization. "A large, winged predator- big enough to pick up cattle with its talons, breathes ghost fire for attack and defence, and has a deep red shade in its coat. There's only one kind of monster I know that matches this description. A _**Basan**_."

Basans were a breed of draconid type monsters that were said to dwell in the mountains of the country's northernmost provinces, where large swaths of bamboo forests grew. According to descriptions written down in the bestiaries Naruto had researched pertaining to these creatures, they resembled large fowl-like birds, identified by bright red cockscombs, with blue hackles and claws, green regimes and sickle feathers, and red covering most of their bodies. While these monsters varied in size and numbers, there were a couple of traits that these draconids possessed that separated them from beasts like Cockatrices and Basilisks.

Aside from walking on two legs like an ostrich and being able to breathe ghost fire capable of scorching flesh and melting armour, some species also possessed the ability to dematerialize and vanish into thin air, essentially giving them a hybrid form of teleportation. It could also harden its feathers as a form of defence and launch them as projectiles, granting them an extra layer of protection against any unforeseen dangers or predators.

Funnily enough, the Basan got its name from the peculiar sound it made from its wing beat, which gave off an eerie 'Basa Basa' rustling noise.

Now, while this creature was fantastic to read about in fantasies and made for one heck of an adversary against a knight errant, for Naruto this presented a very big problem.

"A _Fire Rooster_," Kurama repeated in translation, quickly recalling a few facts she remembered about this certain monster and cringing slightly. "Oooh… vicious whoresons, those things. Not something a bunch of farmers could possibly chase off with a couple of pitchforks and hoes. So… what's the verdict here?"

Running the feather through his fingers once more, Naruto murmured as he racked his brain for a proper diagnosis. "Judging from the pigmentation of this hackle and the size of the shaft… I'd say this Basan is about… five… six years old." He then squinted at the spotted pattern. "Hm. Young male. Probably migrated here in search of food. Saw the farmer settlement at the base of the mountain as an adequate source of prey, so it decided to build a nest nearby." He then lowered the feather and turned to the forest thoughtfully. "I'm going to need to douse my sword in draconid oil and enhance it with fox fire. No way I can kill this thing with ordinary attacks."

Kurama, narrowing her eyes on the feather, then glanced uphill. "Want me to scout ahead for you? See if it's home?"

After pocketing the feather, Naruto shook his head while moving to grip the handle of his silver katana. "No. We'll go together." He then drew it with a loud 'shing' and twirled it into a reverse grip. Immediately after which he then reached into his side pouch, pulled out a glass vial and a cloth, and popped the top. He then poured the oil into the rag and ran it across the blade with a few, firm strokes, spreading it over the length of metal and causing the silver to shimmer under the sun. Upon which he recorked the bottle, covered it in the cloth, and shoved them back into his pouch. "Alright. Time to hunt us a giant chicken."

Slowly, Naruto crept up low towards the top of the hill, which was the direction he suspected the draconid had made its nest. Considering these wild turkeys marked their territories inside of dense, forested areas- most preferably bamboo forests- the boy guessed that he was already well within the beast's hunting grounds. He knew more than anyone that he had to tread carefully, lest he be spotted by the thing and set upon while he was in an unprepared location.

After about ten minutes of hiking up the hill and traversing around the trees that lay in his way, the boy Ryōshi eventually made it to the peak. Entering a clearing with a full view of the surrounding landscape and sky, Naruto soon found himself confronted by a small, rocky outcropping and a tangle of broken up tree trunks and branches gathered at the top of it. Guessing right away from its positioning and scent that this was the Basan's nest, the blonde kept his sword primed and approached it.

Hopping up onto the rocks and looking down into the nest, which appeared large enough to fit two whole elephants inside it, the blonde youngster didn't see any giant bird. However, he was confronted by a rather grizzly sight.

Bodies.

Human bodies.

_Lots of them_.

Some of them missing arms, others missing legs, another missing a head, yet all of them were lying around the lair with their bodies gashed up, torsos ripped open, and guts stretched across the crown of the nest like gossamer. When Naruto, his nose crinkling tightly, further inspected the area for clues, he spotted the bony, dried carcass of a cow lying outside of the nest- which had been picked clean by the monster that had eaten it.

"Ugh," Kurama remarked as she looked upon the grim spectacle before her, at the same time Naruto gripped the handle of his silver katana and hopped into the blood-soaked nest. "It's like after a night out in Iwagakure's Red Light District."

"Still eleven here," Naruto reminded, shooting the fox on his shoulder a dirty look before crouching down in the wooded thicket of the monster's home.

"Right, right," the tiny fox corrected, her tail fluffing behind her as she watched the boy analyse the four bodies scattered around inside the nest. Upon inspecting the vests and headbands still attached to the men, the kitsune blinked. "I'm guessing these are the _Konohagakure_ shinobi the farmer mentioned hiring."

As before, the fox's companion grunted. "You guessed right," Naruto muttered, shuffling closer to one of the bodies and beginning to check the man's pockets- flipping the flaps of his vest up one after the other. Making note of the hole in the guy's stomach and the organs that were missing, the child winced. "Basan like eating their prey alive… disembowels them first, then devours their guts while they're still warm. These men did not die well."

"Damn. Three Chunin and… one Jonin," the fox muttered, glancing from one body to another as her tail swished behind the blonde's head. "Even a whole team of shinobi didn't stand a chance against this thing."

"Yeah… especially when they were up against a monster that can breathe fire, move faster than the wind, evade detection by the senses, and teleport. It wasn't so much a fight as it was a one-sided massacre," Naruto answered, rummaging about the inside of the vest for a moment, before then pulling a scroll from the inside pocket. When he held it up and inspected it, the blonde frowned. "This must've been the team leader."

Looking down at the bloodied scroll the boy was holding, Kurama blinked. "A B-Rank mission? Seriously? The farmers cheap out on their payment?"

"It's probably all they could afford," Naruto answered, at the same time shoving the scroll into his pouch and standing up, "Well… hopefully they won't cut down on my reward after the job is done." After looking about the nest for another minute or so- perusing the corpses for personal effects and other material- the blonde swordsman nodded before then moving out of the nest to stand on the edge of it. "Beast's probably out looking for water. It ate its fill last night, so now it wants to hydrate itself." Reaching under the shawl covering his bandoleer, he grabbed a metal sphere, popped the cap, and then smashed it in the centre of the nest.

The item that was essentially a grenade exploded with a flash of light and immediately started an inferno, which quickly incinerated the bodies and quickly ate away at the nest, sending a large plume of smoke into the sky.

Watching his impromptu bonfire with a smirk, Naruto nodded. "That ought to get its attention."

From there, the blonde proceeded to wait. Standing on the edge of the nest, the youngster kept his eyes and ears affixed to the horizon- the glow in his gaze lessening in order to preserve his stamina while he mentally prepared himself for the battle to come. Kurama, comfortable where she was sitting on her partner's shoulder, also kept her body still yet her senses wide open- telescopically scanning the surrounding region on the lookout for any sign of an approaching, winged monster of significant size.

Considering they were set to go up against an apex predator that had no problems in taking on other large animals to defend its turf, such as griffins and chimeras, spotting it shouldn't pose any sort of problem.

Unfortunately, the fox's assumption that seeing the beast approaching them from a distance in a fury at having its home destroyed turned out to be a little off. For after a few minutes of watching the skies for a suspiciously bird-like silhouette, the pair suddenly spotted a gust of wind cutting over the distant canopy to the east- and approaching fast. When the gale finally reached them and sent a cloud of leaves rushing over the burning nest, the pair then heard the tell-tale signs of 'basa basa' fill the air.

Knowing exactly what that sound was and what this wind heralded, Naruto frowned. "It's here."

Kurama, eyes darting about and ears twitching, then bared her teeth and spiked her fur. "Watch out. It's cloaking."

The blast of wind that came in from over the hills circled the hill Naruto was standing atop of, rustling the trees, stirring up dust, and fanning the smoke. After it did a full lap of the vicinity, shaking the branches and leaves of the canopy below, the blonde warrior with the glistening sword then felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end- a reflexive warning for him to get the hell out of the way.

With a quick kick, the boy leapt to the side in time to dodge the concentrated blast of wind that struck the side of the nest- shattering the stone and sending a cloud of branches into the air.

The instant Naruto rolled out of his way and back onto her feet, the cloud of dust parted instantly as a massive, feathered creature materialized out of thin air. Massive talons digging into the rock beside its burning home and wings fanning outwards in an aggressive display, a creature that was- for all intents and purpose- an enormous, red rooster the size of a large, bull elephant, cut its way through the smoke and glared down its target. Cockscomb emitting smoke as the nostrils on its beak flared, the enormous draconid that was appropriately named a _Basan_ opened its beak and let out a piercing, eagle-like shriek.

Naruto, undeterred by the sonic blast that erupted from its mouth and causing his body to slide back a couple feet, clenched his teeth as he stood up and took his sword into a firm, two-handed grip. "Come on!" he bellowed, at the same time Kurama leapt from his shoulder and scampered off into the undergrowth for her safety.

Almost as soon as the giant, man-eating turkey let out its signature war cry, the beast leaned over and lunged towards the boy at blinding speed, its wings arcing out to cut through the boy with a single swipe. Not willing to get bifurcated by its blade-like feathers or its talons, Naruto quickly turned and rolled to the side, ducking under its appendage as the beast charged right past him.

Slamming its talons into the hillside to halt its momentum from its missed attack, the monster skidded to a stop and wheeled about, kicking up a cloud of dust and grass in the process. Snarling angrily, the bird puffed out its feathers and charged forward- its massive talons pounding against the ground and shaking the earth as it rushed at Naruto beak first. As soon as it came upon the boy retreating from the burning nest for more space, it lashed out with its beak and wings, unleashing gusts of sharpened wind as it attempted to slice him with its feathers.

Expertly ducking under and around each slash, circling the fiend, and watching its blows cut through the ground like a knife through butter, Naruto twirled his silver sword around in a superb flurry of movements- parrying one of the beast's swings before countering with a blur of slashes across its chest and neck. His opening blows struck true, sending splatters of blood across the ground, which in turn drew a startled shriek from the bird as it promptly leapt back to avoid his follow-up strike.

Retracting his sword, Naruto then proceeded to spring out of reach, only for the beast to swing back its wing and practically backhand him flush in the body, smashing him away with a gust of wind. Though the blonde managed to block its wing strike with the front of his sword, the force of the impact knocked him off his feet- sending him flying down the hill.

Slamming into the grass back first, the young Ryōshi let out several grunts as he tumbled heel over head several times. Eventually finding his feet after multiple tumbles, the boy ground to a halt by driving his sword into the earth.

As he stood up, he watched the Basan adjust its posture, take a step back, and flare all the feathers on its back at once. The sight of its coat extending immediately clued Naruto into what it was going to do next and- sure enough- when the bird swung its massive wings around in a swift swipe, it unleashed a hail of multiple red projectiles towards him.

"_**Fūsa!"**_ Naruto shouted, thrusting a hand toward the floor and swiftly erecting a translucent, golden dome of energy around his body. The moment his magical barrier jumped up, the red projectiles- which were hardened feathers thrown by the Basan- bounced off the barrier in a series of loud clangs and flashes. The instant the salvo ended, the shield dropped, allowing Naruto to run at the bird with his sword out.

Through a series of wide, swift strides honed from years of practice back at his home village, the child drew back his silver sword and struck at the bird with an upward vertical strike, forcing the startled rooster to take a step back to avoid getting cut. When the blonde lashed out at it with several more swings, he then drew back his blade for a thrust- only for the Basan to shriek and spin around.

Its sudden rotation ended with it slamming its sickle tail feathers into the child's flank, hitting him hard and sending him flying to the ground with a yell. When he slammed into the grass shoulder first, the giant bird then capitalized on his fall by leaping up, slamming a foot down on him, and picking him up in its talons. With a fierce gust of wind and a shriek, the Basan then took off into the sky at high speed, startling Naruto when the ground beneath him suddenly vanished.

"OOooh… SHIIIIIIIIIT!" the Ryōshi cried out as he felt the air rush past him in a deafening howl and the hill vanish below. Finding his body being crushed in the vice-like grip of the giant bird's talons, the blonde jinchuriki grabbed at one of its toes and glared up at the bird, seeing its gaze fixed squarely on the clouds as it rapidly climbed towards them.

Hearing the Basan's wings beating heavily around him as they gained altitude, Naruto attempted to claw his way out of the monster's talons. He even attempted to punch them. However, after attempting to wiggle loose, the boy took up his sword, slammed it against its ankle, and drew it across with a loud 'squelch'. The Basan's startled cry was followed by the beast releasing the blonde, sending the boy inadvertently plummeting out of the sky.

"AAAAHHH, DAMN IIIIIIIIT!" Naruto screamed, feeling his body start tumbling through the sky as he fell back towards the forest after releasing himself from the beast's grip. Realizing this was probably a tactical error on his part, the frustrated youngster quickly righted himself mid fall and turned his body to face the fast-approaching trees. Frowning as he saw he was getting closer and closer to crashing, the child carefully timed his descent before, throwing his free hand forward, he took a deep breath and yelled.

"_**Fu!" **_the child uttered, before promptly unleashing a blast of wind from his hand that knocked him upwards and drastically slowed his descent.

Doing so allowed the child to perform a casual flip a full two stories above the ground, before he eventually passed through the trees safely and slammed into the hill feet first. His momentum carrying him onwards, the child began sliding down the slope of the small mountain, tearing past trees and digging a long trench through the soil as he practically skied down the incline along an unmarked path.

Glaring ahead of him as he expertly turned and slid past trees and boulders, the child managed to cover over five hundred meters with his impromptu recovery manoeuvre, before eventually exploding out of the woods and back into the open.

A cloud of dust and splinters following in his wake as his body burst out into a clearing, Naruto spun around mid-skid and turned to glare up towards the sky. When he did, he saw the Basan's shadow pass overhead, causing a blast of wind to rip across the clearing as it swooped down, up, and began to bank hard to get its target back in its crosshairs.

Swinging his silver katana around him as he tracked the beast, Naruto crinkled his nose when he saw the Basan keep its distance as it soared around him. Quickly growing impatient when he heard its high-pitched screeches blare through the air, as if the beast were taunting him, the blonde decided to take up its challenge and thrust his left arm out.

When he did, his sleeve retracted slightly and a metallic clank rang out, revealing the Ryōshi was packing a crossbow on his gauntlet. The moment the weapon's limbs snapped out and loaded, he promptly held it up and took aim down his arm's scope- red eyes flaring as he got a lead on the winged beast.

"Gotcha, dattebayo," Naruto whispered. _**"Ka!"**_ The moment he said that, a loud snap rang out as an arrow was loosed from his weapon, which shot into the air with a sonic boom.

The kickback from the crossbow firing was heavy. However, thanks to pumping magic into the weapon prior to launching its projectile, the bolt not only lit up with a flash of orange fire, but the projectile multiplied mid-flight as the round rocketed up towards the airborne rooster. Cutting through the air in a veritable wall of death, the hail of fire arrows eventually struck the creature in the side, peppering its wing and underside, and effectively knocking it out of the air.

With a pained screech, the giant bird lost control of its flight and spun out of the sky- dropping like a stone and crashing into the clearing several yards away from Naruto. The instant he saw the ground rupture from the Basan colliding with it, the blonde retracted his crossbow, held his sword out to his side, and charged towards it as fast as he could.

His body blurring across the clearing, Naruto was soon upon the dazed monster and ready to strike. By the time he reached it, the rooster was already back on its feet and shaking itself out of its daze. After giving a quick ruffle of its feathers, the beast snarled and looked up, just in time to see its tiny target spring fifty feet through the air, dive at it, and deliver a swift slice towards its head.

The boy's silver blade carved across the Basan's face in a flash, drawing a spray of blood from it and causing it to shriek in pain. When Naruto landed on the other side of it, the beast sprang back as fast as it could, shaking its body as it cried out from being hit across a vital area. This was on top of the fact that the boy's blade caused a very painful, burning sensation to eat away at the wound in its flesh- a noticeable steam beginning to erupt from the cuts he'd inflicted.

Spinning his sword up into a defensive stance, Naruto stalked towards the wounded bird as it backed away from him in alarm and fear. "Stings, doesn't it?" the blonde exclaimed, his red eyes flaring as he faced the monster down with all the guts he could muster. Now that his oil was finally taking effect, it wouldn't take too long for him to bring this oversized chicken down.

However, as he was approaching the beast to deliver a more devastating blow, the angry Basan shot a dangerous look towards its attacker and sneered, before flattening its feathers. When Naruto bolted forward and lunged in with a stabbing strike, the enormous bird suddenly vanished in the form of a blast of wind, which tore to the side and avoided the boy's cut. When the blonde slid to a stop, an alarmed expression came over him as he quickly spun around to track the creature.

"Crap," he cursed, watching the wind circle the clearing- disturbing the grass as it went. His red eyes darting about, he attempted to catch a glimpse of the beast with his Ryōshi senses. But even with magic enhancing his view of the area, he was finding it incredibly difficult to get a lock on the teleporting fiend.

As he saw streams of wind whip across the clearing in different directions at once, Naruto kept his guard up- in case one of them decided to come at him from the side. When he heard a 'basa basa' rustling echo behind him, his eyes widened, and he wheeled about with his sword held across his chest. It was a good thing he had his weapon ready, because the moment he turned around, he was hit square in the front by a massive claw that came out of literal thin air and sent flying back.

Slamming into the ground several yards away caused Naruto to lose his grip on his sword, which bounced out of reach. Gasping, he then prepared to crawl after it, only for the Basan to fully materialize out of the air and slam its foot down on him- pinning him to the floor with its talons as it lunged down at him with its beak.

Freaking out, Naruto twisted his body to the side, avoiding the sharpened point of its beak that slammed into the spot where his head had been. Upon avoiding it and seeing the Basan bring its head back up, the giant bird then ruffled its feathers angrily and opened its mouth- which began to spew smoke from its corners. A low screech ripping from its throat, the hapless blonde sensed the creature's aura spike as it rapidly gathered mana into its throat, telling the young hunter that it was going to belch ghost fire right on top of him.

Grabbing its toes to try and lift them, Naruto quickly prepared to counter, only to see a flash of fire explode against the side of the rooster's head, causing the large Basan to lurch to the side in surprise.

When the bird's eyes snapped across the clearing, it was then forced to block with its wing several orange fire balls that came flying at it from across the clearing. As it turns out, Kurama, who had retreated earlier at the outset of the battle, was now dashing across the grassy field and towards the duo, launching tiny biju blasts towards the bird in an attempt to get the creature off of her partner.

The little vixen sprinted in an orange blur across the clearing, leaping into the air and continuing to pepper the giant beast with tiny shots. When several more fire balls exploded uselessly against the bird's furthers, the Basan let out an enraged shriek and prepared to launch an attack at the tiny fox starting to circle it.

Unfortunately, the fire rooster was unable to let off a shot. The instant it became distracted by Kurama's attacks, Naruto, having gathered enough chakra into his chest, opened his mouth and unleashed a surprisingly gargantuan blast of hot, blue flames from his throat, which erupted from his jaws like a geyser and engulfed the Basan's head. The torrent of fire swallowing its entire head caught the draconid completely by surprise- the beast immediately leaping away when it felt the fire sear its flesh and set several of its feathers alight.

Trailing smoke, the Basan let out several loud belches reminiscent of coughs, with the bird shaking its head to rid itself of the tiny wisps of flame burning on its head.

By the time the beast turned its glare back towards Naruto, the boy had already scrambled to his feet and recovered his sword. When the Basan attempted to charge him, raising its talons for a sprint, the blonde swung his free hand forward, bent the fingers into a seal, and unleashed a second stream of blue fire towards the bird, which erupted outwards and began torching- not only monster- but the ground around it.

The bird backed away as the sparks and blue flames ripped into it from the front, forcing it to try and protect itself with its wings. As Naruto advanced on it, unloading a continuous jet of fire from his hand while Kurama also continued launching energy blasts at the bird from a distance, the alarmed and disgruntled Basan let out an annoyed shriek and took flight. Its massive wings flapped furiously as it struggled to take to the air- unable to teleport due to the amount of damage it was taking.

Naruto however, not willing to let the bird retreat and recover, took immediate action. Retracting the hand he was using to launch his stream of fox fire, the boy formed another quick seal and produced a long, golden chain of magically charged chakra from his palm that dropped to the floor with a metallic clatter. Swinging his arm back and whipping the bladed tip through the air like a lasso, he then swung it forward and extended it- the golden links stretching over an incredible distance in the blink of an eye. With great skill, excellent timing and terrific aim, the chain struck the bird the wing and broke it, knocking the monster out of the air and sending it crashing to the ground.

Upon seeing the enormous draconid collide with the earth, Naruto rapidly retracted his magic chain, brought up his silver sword once more and charged- bolting across the clearing in a blur of movement. When his body burst through the cloud of dust kicked up by the fallen avian, he swung his sword back and ignited it, blue flames engulfing the blade in an inferno as he lunged in at the beast scrambling over the ground.

On its back, the Basan spun around and shrieked angrily at Naruto, seeing the bruised child skid to a stop directly over it and wind back his weapon.

"HRAAAAAAAGH!" Naruto shouted, his silver katana cutting through the air in a flash of metal and flames…

OOO

(Sometime later)

By the time the sun had risen to that area's point of noon, the buildings and cottages surrounding the empty rice fields, which had remained silent for most of the morning, began showing signs of life. The curtains hanging over the various windows of the main building, all of which had remained drawn in the wake of the Basan's first attack on the area, were slowly pushed aside by multiple villagers curious to see what was going on beyond the safety of their temporary bunker. After seeing the young Ryōshi leave following his talk with the community's representative about the monster that was terrorizing them, the people had waited for his return in dead silence- wondering if the child, this supposed member of the legendary monster hunters- had managed to slay the beast tormenting their peaceful settlement.

Obviously being ignorant of the wider world due to their isolation from the larger and more active bodies of civilization, there was obviously a great deal of doubt to be shared amongst the adults. Many of farmers that'd gathered in the safety of the manager's domain thought that the arrival of the blonde vagrant was a joke and had mentally dismissed him right off.

When a couple of the farmers started peaking outside of their shelter to see if the area was clear, many of them started thinking that the beast had gotten the boy, and that their situation was about to become even more problematic. Even the sight of the smoke starting to rise up over the forest far off in the hills led them to believe that something bad was about to happen.

However, about a couple of hours after the initial arrival of the Ryōshi to their humble parish, the people hiding away in the houses suddenly saw a distinct figure limp in from down the road.

A few minutes of baited breath and stiffened backs, when the person finally marched past the rice fields and stopped at the front gate of the largest farmhouse in the vicinity, the people barricaded inside saw that their would-be monster hunter had returned alive and well- only he wasn't exactly in a state that would be considered presentable.

Covered in a ridiculous amount of blood and gore, trailing smoke from various burns to his flesh, and sporting three large gashes running diagonally across his chest, an incredibly dishevelled and exasperated Naruto held up the package he was lugging in his right hand and dumped it in the mud.

This "bag" he dropped, turned out to be the very large and very decapitated head of the determined Basan he'd been wrestling with for the past hour, which he had finally managed to collect after putting the bird down.

Taking a deep breath, the Ryōshi then let out a long sigh, before speaking up in a voice loud enough for the people inside the wooden cottage to hear. "It's okay! The beast's dead! You can come out now!"

Slowly- but surely- the doors to the barn and the house opened, and two crowds of very anxious villagers of various ages and genders crept out into the light. Leading the troop from the main building in front of Naruto was a middle-aged man with brown hair and slightly greying hair, a beard, and wearing the robes of a high-up figure in the village- the community manager and elected representative. Upon clumsily walking over to where the exhausted Naruto was waiting with Kurama perched comfortably on his shoulder, the man and the crowd behind him chanced a glance towards the monstrous head lying at his feet.

A woman at the head of the mov, wearing an apron and handkerchief, covered her mouth and gasped, "My Kami…"

Upon seeing the fire rooster's gaping, lifeless face staring back at them from the puddle, like some horror from a joke butcher shop, the representative of the community gulped nervously. "W-What in the world is it?"

Naruto inhaled while carelessly wiping the blood from his cheek on the back of his gloved hand. The act of doing so only smeared the gunk across his skin, which hilariously made his scarred face appear more intimidating than before. "The beast that attacked your village was a Basan."

"A… A what?" the farmer leader stuttered.

"A Basan… better known as a _Basabasa_ or _Fire Rooster_. A type of draconid that inhabits bamboo forests and mountain valleys towards the northern provinces," Naruto elaborated, gesturing down to the head sitting at his feet. "Normally you don't find this species roaming around this part of the country. My guess is that it must've migrated here looking for food and territory of its own. When it came across your village, it decided to make the nearby hills its home and built a nest there."

"A-Ah… I s-see…" the farmer stuttered, growing a little bit woozy at the sight of the large rooster head lying on the floor. After swallowing what he guessed was vomit, the man looked up at the bloodied child in amazement. "Was it a tough fight?"

Naruto, looking down at himself and the bits of bird stomach he had stuck to his shawl, then shrugged with a deadpanned expression. "More or less. It may have been young, but it was fast as hell and hit like a train. Even with a broken wing it still managed to catch me with its talons." He emphasized this by tapping his chest, where the large gash in his jacket was clearly visible. Luckily, he had leather armour sewn into the lining, meaning the beast's talons didn't graze his skin and went shallow. "Thankfully this kind of draconid isn't venomous."

"I see," the head farmer answered, watching as several of his fellow villagers moved closer to get a better look at the head and the hero that'd slain it. Upon hearing the people begin to clamour in both excitement and relief, the middle-aged man breathed out once again to compose himself and smiled at their saviour. "We owe you our lives, young man." He then moved forward, reached behind him, and pulled out a small brown bag, which he then dropped into Naruto's waiting hand. "Your reward… as promised. The entire village pitched in."

Weighing the sack after it was deposited in his palm, the youngster then opened it to find a wad of cash and coins sitting at the bottom. After counting the ryo and nodding in approval that everything was accounted for, the child then pocketed his earnings and bowed his head to the farmer politely. "A pleasure doing business with you. If another problem arises and you need a monster slain… be sure to drop a request to the outpost. I'll be sure to pick it up."

Watching the dirt and blood-covered youngster turn and head off, the surprised farmer suddenly remembered something and called out to him. "Wait! What about the ninja we hired? Did you manage to find them?"

Stopping in his tracks and looking over his shoulder, a grim frown fell over Naruto's lips. "Yeah. They're dead. The Basan killed them." He then reached into his pouch and pulled out the scroll he'd recovered from the team leader, waving it so that the villagers saw what he'd found. "I'll be taking this back to _Konohagakure_. I have to inform the Hokage about the men he'd lost."

The head farmer nodded in understanding, before then putting on a small smile. "What's your name?"

Pocketing the scroll, the whiskered hunter nodded, "Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki," he answered, before tipping his head in gratitude, turning, and walking away.

Just another day and another job in the like of a Ryōshi…

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Allow me to clarify a few things. The monsters of the Witcher world have blended in with the Naruto world over the last millennia, and many things have changed.

In order to quell the rise of monsters, the job of hunting and slaying them fall on the jinchuriki- people who possess the chakra and adaptabilities needed to hunt and kill creatures from other worlds. Their regenerative abilities and other traits allow them to survive the procedure necessary to blend magic with chakra users, allowing them enhanced levels of ability, and giving them better chances against creatures from other dimensions.

The classification for _**Witcher**_ in the Naruto world now is _**Ryōshi**_\- which literally translates to Huntsman in English, and is the name given to the jinchuriki who are trained to hunt monsters. This blends not only the elements from the Witcher universe into the Naruto one, but also adds more to the lore.

The monsters that also appear in the Naruto world include monsters from Japanese mythology, many of which I will include in a bestiary note at the end of each chapter.

Also, if you're wondering about Kurama in this story, the fox that appears alongside Naruto is only a fragment of the fox. While Naruto possesses Kurama's chakra, there is a lot more to the story than what has been revealed…

Speaking of which…

* * *

**Bestiary:**

"_I was walking the cows out to the field one morning, when all of a sudden I heard a loud rustling noise from above, followed by an ungodly shadow. Next thing I knew… half my herd was gone."_

_-Farmer, recounting a Basan attack_

_Basans are a type of draconid that inhabit the northern provinces of the continent. While stories state that these beasts are capable of turning people into stone with a single glance and hunt for sheep at night, this is merely superstition. What people should really be worried about is its aggressive nature and its ability to spit fire that can incinerate an entire platoon of soldiers with a single breath._

_Basans thrive in large bamboo forests and mountainous areas, which are ideal environments for them to hide and hunt. Much larger than Cockatrices- with some even growing to twice the size of a barn- they are more than capable of taking on beasts of any size, as well as anyone who happens to stumble upon their territory._

_These birds don't shun direct fights- preferring to charge their foes head first and take them out with their blade-like wings and enormous talons. Not only are they capable of unleashing hails of projectiles in the form of hardened feathers to impale targets at a distance, they can also breathe magical fire in the form of ghost fire, which can melt through and bypass all non-magical defences. When a Basan matures enough, it is also capable of transforming its body into wind and teleporting, which it can use to confuse and surround its enemies, as well as ambush prey._


	3. Academy Arc - Humble Vagrants

**Author's Note:** I would like to point out to people reading this story that a lot of the **monsters** appearing in this story won't just be from the **Witcher** game. Since monsters in the Witcher game and novels are based off creatures taken from Scandinavian and European folklore, a lot of the creatures I have picked for this story originate from Japan- and come with their own slew of unique abilities.

So, if anyone says 'this monster' should've been beaten by someone of Chunin level or Jonin level, you would be dead wrong in that regard. While I would like to throw in the argument that even a Jonin can't fight wind or a ghost, because trying to wound either is impossible without magic, many of these creatures have the strength of a basic Summon. Any ninja who tries to fight a Summon usually ends up in a world of hurt, mostly because Summons- like monsters and beasts endowed with supernatural abilities- can just steam roll through any tactics or strategies a ninja can throw at them. It's why they make such effective battle companions and one of the best ninjutsu in a shinobi's arsenal.

The** Basan** that appeared in the last chapter is the Japanese equivalent to a Cockatrice. However, the Basan is described to be a lot larger and more mystical than a Cockatrice, especially since it practically towers over bamboo forests, breathes ghost fire, and disappears every time someone hears it and tries to catch a glimpse of it. This gives it ghost like powers on top of being a giant monster, so trying to attack something like this is next to impossible- as emphasized in Naruto's battle with it.

This is the wiki entry for this monster:

_**The Basan**__ (__波山__), alternatively referred to as Basabasa (__婆娑婆娑__) or Inuhōō (__犬鳳凰__), is a fowl-like bird with origins stemming from Japanese mythology and folklore and illustrated in Takehara Shunsen's Ehon Hyaku Monogatari and the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō._

_**Mythology**_

_It is said to live in the mountains of Iyo Province (today Ehime Prefecture). According to the description on the illustration, it resembles a large chicken and breathes ghost-fire from its mouth. It is described as having a bright red cockscomb and spits an equally brilliant-hued fire. The fire is a cold fire, a glow, and it does not burn._

_It usually lives in the bamboo groves of mountain recesses but sometimes materializes in human villages late at night. When the Basan flaps its wings, an eerie rustling ("basa basa") sound can be heard. Supposedly, if a human hears the sound and looks outside, the bird's form will suddenly vanish. It is sometimes depicted with blue hackles and claws, green regimes and sickle feathers, and a red body. It is also sometimes called the "Fire Rooster"_

I'll describe each monster in the bestiary entries, but if you're unsure whether the monster is of European origin or Japanese origin, you can always google the name.

* * *

**NARUTO**

_**Wild Hunt**_

_Humble Vagrants_

(The next day)

(Konohagakure)

The final semester at the academy had been growing incredibly well for Sakura Haruno. Not only was she getting top marks in every test and class, but she was also receiving high praise from all her teachers for her chakra control and her problem-solving skills. Heck, putting aside the physical aspects of her training- in which students like Sasuke Uchiha and Kiba Inuzuka were considered the top achieving students- she was probably the best student in literacy and math overall.

Though her friend and rival Ino liked to argue otherwise, Sakura was fully aware of her capabilities and aimed to refine them to the point of perfection. Though half of this motivation was driven by her desire to impress the school's resident prodigy and pretty boy Sasuke, the pinkette was also keen to build her skills and earn more praise from her teachers and the village leader.

With the days at the academy quickly leading into its final period, the atmosphere on campus was at an all-time high. All the children were excited for their upcoming exams, and since they'd spent the better part of the year training and studying their butts off in preparation for the abovementioned trials, everyone was in high spirits. Considering the final test was to perform a perfect _Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Clone Technique) in front of the school's instructors in order to acquire a headband, you could tell that all of them were pretty confident about their ability to pass.

After all, the standard _Bunshin_ was one of the simplest supplementary abilities for a shinobi to perform- and is a technique that all ninja was expected to use on the fly. All the children in the school, whether smart, dim, or just plain ecstatic at their tenure at the academy coming to an end, knew without a shadow of a doubt that their final exam was going to be a cake walk.

Sakura knew this too- a fact that kept popping up in her head as she strolled across the yard alongside Ino- gabbing on with the blonde over how they were going to nail the last test.

"I'm telling you, Ino- this last test is gonna be a breeze," the pinkette chirped with a big smile on her face as she waved her hand in front of her in an exaggerated manner. "I just don't see why Iruka-sensei doesn't just give us the headbands straight up, since he knows all of us will pass this year."

The blue-eyed preteen in the purple tunic and skirt walking alongside Sakura shrugged in a rather doubtful manner. "Well, you and I will definitely pass. But Choji and Shikamaru… eeeh… I don't know."

"Oh, come on," the pinkette exclaimed with an incredibly disbelieving look on her face. "Even old lazy bones should be able to produce a clone or two on command. I mean… we don't ever really see him use any ninjutsu besides his clan's shadow possession one. But I bet even he's hiding a couple of tricks under his sleeves."

"Hmm… maybe you're right," Ino replied, figuring that maybe her family friend would be able to muster enough stamina to luck out during the final exam. But considering the Nara preferred sleeping in class as opposed to performing tests, the blonde still had some doubts in the kid putting genuine effort into the test. "I suppose if he doesn't want to make his mom angry, he's definitely gonna have to do it. What about you, forehead? Are your parents expecting you to pass with flying colours?"

Sakura stuck her nose in the air and grinned. "Oh, they know I'm gonna pass. After all the grades I've been bringing back over the last couple of months, I wouldn't be surprised if they have the banners and cakes for my celebration already prepared."

Ino grunted when she copped a full view of the pinkette's confidence. "Right. I guess that massive brow of yours isn't just for show. You have enough brain in that head for three students to pass."

As always, the pink-haired girl shot her friend a glare, before then looking ahead of her and grinning. "You're just jealous," she remarked, earning a huff from the blonde as they continued to stroll along. As they did, a rather grim look then came over her face. "The only thing I'm really worried about is the written bestiary exam. I mean… I can pass the test on identifying and fighting against monsters, sure… but are we really going to run into a lot of creatures outside of the village?"

"Most likely," Ino answered, her expression also steeling when she looked ahead of her with an uncomfortable frown. "From what I heard, there are more and more showing up every day. Last night, my dad told me about a Genin squad getting ambushed by a pack of drowners on a road just a mile outside of the village. One of the kids got badly mauled by one, but their teacher was able to save him before anything else could happen."

A shiver ran down Sakura's back at the thought of coming across one of those blue-skinned beasts. As far as otherworldly beasts went, drowners were as common as they came. Though they were dangerous in swarms and posed a small threat to unsuspecting shinobi, of the plethora of beasts out there, they were by far the easiest to take down. And that wasn't counting wolves, bears, boars, and other animals they were likely to come across in the wild. "Well… hopefully our first mission outside of the hidden leaf doesn't end up the same way." Coming up on the area behind the main building of the academy, Sakura immediately spied the restrooms and nudged her friend in the arm. "Come on. I have to use the loo."

"Alright," Ino nodded, following her friend over to the entrance.

The banter between Sakura and Ino was business as usual. Though both students competed fiercely for Sasuke's affections whenever they were in view of him, the two of them were still able to share some moments of pleasantry and wisdom. Being able to chat and converse, while making small jabs at one another's appearances or abilities, was practically the norm for these two girls. Though most of what they said to one another was harmless teasing, the pair rarely ever came to blows over insults.

They preferred saving their energy for the periods of the day that they could impress the Uchiha. That was their primary day-to-day recourse. Everything else was just fodder in comparison.

Upon retiring to the lavatories, the pair spent the next couple of minutes completing whatever business they had. Ino of course waited by the sinks, washing her face with water while her friend sat at the end stall humming to herself. Once the pinkette was done a little while later, the girl then came out of the cubicle and proceeded to wash her hands at the furthest sink- all with a pleasant smile in her face and a tune in her voice.

However, while Sakura was rinsing her hands and thinking about how she was going to best impress her teachers at the final exam- whether by creating two clones or four- both she and Ino suddenly heard a low growl.

"_**Hrrggghhh… reeeed…. ooor bluuuueee…."**_

A cold shiver running up their backs, both Sakura and Ino quickly looked at one another, with the pinkette's hands remaining frozen under the running water.

"Was… that you?" the Yamanaka asked with a slight tremor in her voice.

Sakura shook her head. "N-No…" She then quickly looked behind her towards the stalls, with her friend Ino also creeping over to investigate.

For the next couple of minutes, the restroom remained completely silent, with the two academy students holding their breaths and eyeing the open stalls behind them in search of the voice that'd spoken. The echo created by the low growling of words had almost sounded like the person that'd uttered them had been standing directly behind the pair, which had immediately put both kunoichi-in-training on guard.

About a minute more of silence later and the voice spoke again- this time a little louder and with a gurgle.

"_**Reeeed…. hrrrgghh… or bluuuee. Raaghhh… choooose…."**_ The sound was deep and threatening… almost like that of a man dying of starvation.

As the water from the tap continued to run beside her friend, Ino narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth when she attempted to connect the voice with someone they knew. After years of experiencing pranks and dealing with idiots, the blonde immediately happened upon a culprit. "Damn it, Kiba. Was that you, you creep? Answer me!"

Sakura frowned when her eyes darted between the stalls. "I… I don't think that was Kiba…"

As the two girls continued to watch the cubicles and the toilets, a very cold chill suddenly fell over them- the temperature dropping and causing frost to start building in the corners of the mirror behind them. Noticing a light fog appear on the floor, both girls let out a shaky breath, their muscles twitching as their fight or flight instincts quickly kicked in.

"Let's get out of here," Ino whispered, looking across at Sakura. However, the moment she did, her eyes widened in horror when she noticed something hovering behind her friend.

The pinkette glancing at the blonde, noticed her startled gaze and- slowly- turned her head. When the pair both found themselves looking up at the bathroom mirror, they saw, in its reflection, a floating figure in a ragged red cloak with a hood pulled over their head. Seeing that the figure was towering over them in the glass, both girls immediately felt a cold wave of fear wash over them, which in turn had them take an alarmed step back.

Through the frost and glare of the glass, they saw the figure peer up at them from under their veil. When they did, Sakura and Ino felt their chests tighten when they saw a grinning, blood-covered mask glaring back at them, and a pair of piercing yellow eyes shining from the holes.

Before they could so much as scream, the hooded phantom then did something completely unexpected. Like an illusion, the cloaked figure dove at them through the glass and grabbed both girls by the throats. Their cries of terror silenced, Sakura and Ino were effortlessly picked up off the floor and pulled through the air, during which time the masked figure dove towards the toilet in the last stall.

In that instant, what looked like a tiny black hole- a tear in the fabric of space- opened above the U-bend, which allowed the hooded figure to dive through the gap with his two victims in tow. The moment he and the pair of kunoichi-in-training passed through the threshold, the black hole sealed itself shut and the entire room fell silent once more.

Almost a few seconds after the three figures vanished, another student- sporting purple hair, a black shirt, fishnet arm bands, and black shorts- stepped in through the entrance.

Her eye looking around the surprisingly cold area in search of her classmates, Ami gave a couple of blinks. "Uhh… Sakura… Ino? You guys still in here?"

There was no answer…

XXX

(A few days later)

(Elsewhere)

Sleeping beneath trees or inside abandoned homes almost every night when travelling cross country, had become a bit of a regular habit for Naruto these days. Ever since he finished his training back in his clan's hometown of _Uzushiogakure_ (Village Hidden by Whirling Tides), the act of finding secluded places to catch a few hours of shuteye without being disturbed by either locals or monsters, had almost become second nature.

For starters, since he had to go for many days and weeks without work every so often, he was able to save up the coin that he earned from his jobs so that he could spend it on other stuff that were useful to his craft. By also not having to pay for any sort of rent or accommodation every month, also meant that he had enough in his pockets to spend on other goods and services- such as new weapons, ammunition, repairs for his gear, and hot food.

In brief, the periods in which Naruto spent on non-essentials were few and far between. And while the outcome of his latest job meant he had to stop off at a tailor to mend his ruined clothing and patch up his pants, Naruto didn't have any fears of his funds going into the red- at least not at this stage. Thanks to pooling all his coin and loot into several secret stashes and safety deposit boxes scattered across the continent, the young hunter had ensured he had enough hidden away in case of rain.

After making sure to bank his cash at the next station and catch a quick dip in a hot spring to clean himself up, the blonde then headed on his way back up to _Konohagakure_. Wanting to take it easy after his scruff with the Basan, the child made sure to take the scenic route- one that wasn't laden with beasts, monsters, bandits, or other obstacles that could potentially cause a few headaches.

Though he carried the marks of a Ryōshi, this didn't mean he was free of pests. No matter where he went, there were always going to be pricks and fiends wanting to mess with him.

Honestly, he preferred monsters more then the men. At least the beasts he killed daily didn't goad him into engagements or hurl insults his way.

With Kurama riding shotgun on his shoulder and sleeping for most of the time, Naruto was able to have a very pleasant walk up country. Passing over hills, through the valleys, and crossing the occasional farmland, the child was able to admire the scenery and soak in the beauty of the world about him. It was only after his third day of travelling on foot that the need to fill his gut with something other than fish and wild game finally sank in. After counting the coins in his jacket, the boy made a quick stop at a small settlement- just a full day shy of the _Hidden Leaf_.

The inside of the Udon restaurant was lively with a handful of villagers from the local area- as well as merchants advertising their goods on the road. While the men and women seated at the bar and the tables pushed up along the wall were enjoying a pleasant meal and a chat with their co-workers, the moment they heard the entrance's bells ring, all eyes turned towards the curtains.

The moment Naruto ducked in through the cloths hanging over the front of the noodle bar, almost all the people seated inside went silent when they immediately recognized the child from the two swords at his side and the uniform he was wearing. When the scar-faced hunter slowly passed over the threshold and approached the counter where the owner of the restaurant was standing and cleaning dishes, the men around the tables began whispering to one another.

"Hey… is that-"

"A Ryōshi," another finished, his eyes narrowing on the blonde with the fox sleeping on his shoulder. "A monster hunter. There's one roaming around the area?"

"It sure seems like it."

"But… he's just a kid," another said under his breath, with a combination of amazement and doubt. "A child that young hunts and kills monsters for a living?"

After glancing around the room to see all the patrons eyeing him, the red-eyed Naruto inhaled sharply and approached the bar. Along the way, the boy caught wind of a few other words being uttered that he was more or less used to hearing in the towns he passed through.

"_What a freak…"_

"_Spoiled my appetite…"_

"_Smell that? He reeks of blood and sewage."_

"_Disgusting."_

"_They shouldn't let freaks like that wander around the countryside."_

Stopping for a moment to shoot a glare across at the table that was hissing the most insults about him, the blonde allowed his stare to linger before eventually stepping towards the counter. Upon which he then gave the menu a quick scan.

"Don't mind them," the owner behind the bar- a woman- said, drawing Naruto's gaze toward her. When he saw the kindly female in the apron and head handkerchief smile, she then proceeded to engage in pleasantries with him. "Some of those boys are a little bit weary from their travels, so things are a little bit tense around here. You know what it's like. Monsters around every corner… beasts around every second… and bandits every third. Real dangerous roads out there."

"Hm… yeah. I already got my fill of the first," Naruto responded, before then turning his eyes back to the board behind the freckled bar owner. "I just got through completing a contract."

"Oh? Whereabouts?" the restaurant owner asked.

"_Maiyama Farm_… a few days south of here," Naruto answered while jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. "Villagers were having a problem with a Basan that'd made a home in their hills… so I went in to clear it out. It was a tough bird, but I managed to bring it down in the end."

"Ooh… sounds like you had a busy couple of days," the waitress chirped, smiling broadly before swinging her arms out. "Well, whatever the case, food and drinks are half-price. What would you like?"

After a quick peruse of the menu, Naruto elected to go for the Udon, beef and egg combo, extra large portion, along with some tea. Upon putting his coins on the counter, he then marched his way over to an empty table in the corner of the restaurant. Ignoring the looks and glares he received from the group of travellers at the table kicking up the most fuss over his presence, the child slid into the booth and made himself comfortable.

He didn't have to wait long for the store owner to bring out his food and tea on a tray. Once he had the steaming bowl of noodles placed in front of him and had thanked the cook for her hard work and kindness, the whiskered boy then split the chop sticks and dug in. Having spent the last couple of weeks on the road, Naruto made sure to take his time with his food and savour every slurp.

Things seemed to simmer down around the country bar a few minutes after that. When the group of antagonistic travellers finally left a little while later, along with several other locals eager to get back to work, the blonde hunter was left to enjoy his noodles in peace. By the time he was halfway done, the only people left in the restaurant were the store owner washing cups by the sink, a couple farmers at another table discussing papers and planning over a drink, and a female store clerk still eating her meal at another table.

With Kurama still napping on his shoulder, Naruto figured that he could order something else while he was here. However, just as he was about to finish off his soup, he suddenly heard the 'klak' of a cup being set in front of him and saw a man sit down in the chair across from him.

Smiling pleasantly, the adult stranger nodded towards the boy when he saw the child give him a strange look. "Greetings. Mind if I sit here?"

Naruto, at first a little surprised at suddenly having a stranger take up the chair at his table, spared a quick glance around at the other empty places available, before eventually shrugging. "Sure. Go ahead. I don't see why not?"

"Heheh. Always better to share your tea with someone rather than by one's self. It makes for a more pleasant outing," the mysterious stranger continued in a jaunty, cheerful voice. Sliding a cup across to Naruto, he then picked up the tea pot he'd carried over with him and proceeded to pour both himself and the boy a drink. "Come. It'll lift your spirits."

"Thanks," Naruto replied, having gone through much of his tea already yet still feeling somewhat parched. After seeing the man set the pot down, the blonde picked up the freshly poured brew, held it up to the stranger gratefully and took a sip.

When he set his cup down and saw the stranger take a gulp of his own, the young hunter with the twin swords at his side blinked as he looked the stranger over curiously.

The man was of average height and build- bald but with black eyebrows, a round kindly face, and a light five o'clock shadow. Aside from his very ordinary look, the man was also sporting an orange-brown hooded jacket with blue lines on the sleeves, fingerless gloves, travel sacks, belts around his waist holding numerous things from scrolls to wooden spoons, leather trousers, and sandal-style boots. Overall, the guy had the look of a seasoned traveller and purveyor of goods about him- one made more apparent from the material he had on his person, and the dirt covering bits of his clothing and footwear.

Upon sizing the stranger up, Naruto decided to make small talk. "Awfully nice of you."

The bald traveller chuckled after setting his glass down. "When you've been on the road as long as I have, you learn that showing a little courtesy and kindness toward others can go a long way." He then grinned and waved a hand across to the side. "It helps to build connections for potential business- especially if I happen to have a monster problem. And who better to solve such a problem than a Ryōshi?"

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at that statement. "So… you know who I am?"

The man bowed his head slightly. "Fortune must be smiling on me today. To run into Naruto Uzumaki- _The Butcher of Tanzaku Quarters_ himself. It is a real honour."

"Hmm. The pleasure is all mine," Naruto answered, feeling a smile tug at his lips at the man's obvious admiration towards him. After watching him take another sip from his tea, the blonde then gestured towards him. "How exactly did you hear about me, if I might ask?"

"What a question," the traveller remarked while leaning back in his seat. "Jiraiya-sama's anthology of course- _The Tale of a Gutsy Ryōshi_. The only way a humble merchant might hope to rub up against greatness." He then tapped the top of his table pointedly. "As it so happens, I managed to get a signature from the Legendary Sannin while he was promoting his new issue of _Icha Icha_ over in the village of Tagama a few weeks ago. Now that was a day I will not soon forget."

Nodding his head in understanding- and inwardly rolling his eyes at hearing about the Sannin's recent endeavour- then tilted his head. "And… what about you? You mentioned earlier that you were a merchant?"

The bald stranger smiled. "A mangy vagrant. Gaunter O'Dimm, at your service." He placed a hand over his chest and lowered his head in a greeting.

Naruto chuckled a little. "Vagrant? That a profession now?"

The man then breathed a sigh while resting forward on the table. "Ah, once a merchant of mirrors. The madding crowd dubbed me _Master Mirror_… or the _Man of Glass_." He then smiled broadly when he saw Naruto take another swig of his tea, which in turn led the man to crane his head. "Forgive me for asking but, would you and your charming animal companion happen to be heading for _Konoha_ by any chance?"

When Naruto lowered his cup, he sensed Kurama crack open an eye to glance across at the bald stranger. After the fox got a good look at the man, she then shut her eye again and went back to sleep, allowing her blonde partner to continue his talk without interruption. "Actually, yeah. I'm traveling there to return a scroll to the Hokage. Why?"

O'Dimm's eyes twinkled in response, which was then followed by the bald traveller leaning forward and speaking to the child in a low voice. "Word on the road is that the Hidden Leaf is in a bit of an uproar. Folk across town have been mysteriously vanishing one after the other- with no clues or indications as to who or what is doing it. Some say that some kind of phantom might be responsible for these disappearances."

"Huh. Fascinating," Naruto whispered, glancing down momentarily in thought. "Could be a vampire… or a wraith." He then looked back up at the bald merchant and frowned. "Any other details you're willing to share? Who were the latest victims?"

"A boy from a powerful shinobi family," O'Dimm answered, before then tracing a line across the top of the table. "And before him two young girls from the ninja academy. Just up and vanished into thin air, without a wisp or a trace."

The blonde narrowed his brow, "Where were they last seen?"

This question earned a scoff from the bald vagrant. "I'm not omniscient. Ask at the _Hokage Tower_. I'm sure the village leader will be happy to give you the rundown."

Contemplating over this for a few more seconds, Naruto then gave the man a polite nod of gratitude. "Thanks a lot. Really."

After observing the man drink the rest of his tea and set his cup down, the blonde then watched O'Dimm stand up, shuffle out of the booth, and stroll past him. As he left, the helpful merchant gave the young hunter a pleasant, parting word of farewell. "We men of the road must stick together. Perhaps one day I'll be in trouble… and you'll be nearby to help."

Upon allowing the travelling vagrant to step out of his peripheral vision for but a second, Naruto then turned around to give him a final expression of thanks. However, the moment he did, the blonde recoiled in shock when he saw that the man had suddenly vanished into thin air. Eyes darting about in alarm, he attempted to figure out where the guy had gone- as not only was there no exit in the direction he had walked, but not a single damn window either.

When she sensed this, the previously napping Kurama lifted her head off Naruto's shoulder as her ears pointed straight up. "What the fuck? Where did he go?"

"Dunno," Naruto uttered back, completely at a loss as to what'd happened.

Figuring the man might've been some sort of powerful mage or sorcerer, the blonde made sure to finish his noodles and the pot of tea that O'Dimm had shared with him. Upon which the child then stood up, adjusted the swords hanging from his waist, and started out of the bar. When he stepped outside, he did one last sweep of the area to see if the generous vagrant was still about. Finding nothing, the Ryōshi decided to hit the road.

Though he had no idea who this O'Dimm character was, all Naruto knew was that he had another job waiting for him up ahead. And from the sound of things, it was going to keep him busy for another couple of days.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

**Author's Note:** If anyone on this site has any idea how a Jonin versed in chakra could possibly stop a ghost that can literally bleed through walls, make themselves intangible to ALL attacks, and teleport from dimension to dimension without magic (as I made a clear indication here, magic and chakra are completely separate entities and don't mix. The only individuals in this world who can use both are Ryoshi), I'm all ears.

Also, anyone want to guess what kind of wraith is terrorizing Konoha? You get three guesses.


	4. Academy Arc - Ghosts from the Past

**NARUTO**

_**Wild Hunt**_

_Ghosts from the Past_

(A day later)

The rest of Naruto's trip up North remained relatively uneventful, save for a brief encounter with an oversized boar running along the edge of the forest. Seeing as how the creatures were quite common in the area, the blonde Ryōshi was able to dispatch of it quickly and efficiently- inadvertently catching himself some lunch for the break during his trip.

After cooking up a chunk of the beast's hide and eating it under the shade of a tree on a hill overlooking the valley with his fox companion Kurama- the boy then collected his gear and carried on. It was probably only an hour of more walking that the child finally happened upon the familiar wooden gates and stone wall surrounding the enormous township of _Konohagakure _(Village Hidden in the Leaves).

Unlike all the other shinobi villages across the continent, the hidden leaf stood out as not only a centre for trade, commerce, and culture in the mainland, but also as the birthplace of the current feudal system governing the surrounding nations, and the starting point for many legendary figures throughout history. The most standout members of course had been individuals like the Hokages, all of whom gained much of their reputation before and through their respective leaderships. The same could be said of people like the _Legendary Sannin_, the _Ino-Shika-Cho Trio_, and members of vaunted clans like the Hyuuga, the Sarutobi, the Inuzuka, and the Uchiha- the latter of which boasted some of the most prominent shinobi in the past three hundred years, including Madara Uchiha, Naori Uchiha, Kagami Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, and Shisui Uchiha- all prodigies of their respective fields.

Speaking of which…

"_I wonder how Naori and Izumi-chan are doing,"_ Naruto wondered, being familiar with these two through previous encounters and business dealings with them.

Due to his line of work as a Ryōshi- a freelance hunter for hire and a neutral party in this world- the blonde had been able to deal with almost every faction and ruling body out there. These included members of the hidden villages and the communities living beneath their banners.

Despite the number of states and provinces dotting the landscape, there were currently two main powers that ruled over them and kept the world in motion- _**chakra**_ and _**chaos**_\- the latter of which became better referred to as _**magic**_. Almost everyone across every corner of the globe was in some way aware of these two forces and the history of how they came to be.

_Chakra_ had existed in this world since the dawn of civilization and has often been regarded as the building blocks to society. It was only about a millennia ago when the energy source really came into prominence on the continent, when the legendary founder and tamer of chakra- Kaguya Otsutsuki- ate from the fruit of the _Shinju_ (God Tree) and gained control of its power in order to protect the world from an overwhelming, invading force. She then passed the knowledge and power of chakra on to her family, who later branched out and taught the rest of the world about the energy source and how to harness it.

It was through this education that the celestial princess and her descendants hoped the world would become able enough and strong enough to defend themselves from the second power- magic.

_Magic _appeared in this land during the early years of Kaguya Otsutsuki during a calamitous upheaval, which scholars later called _The Conjunction of the Spheres._ The resulting catastrophe caused this world to intertwine with another, allowing forces, people, and creatures from other dimensions to slip into their domain, and begin populating the planet in the hundreds of thousands. Magic was the primary offspring of this cataclysm, which went on to touch every part of the known world and warp it to the point that it bled seamlessly into the soil, air, and space all around.

The only reason people know so much about _Magic_ today is thanks in large part to the people that entered the world because of the _Conjunction_. The races that emerged thanks to the rifts included not only humans from another realm, but elves, dwarves, halflings, hybrids, orcs, and other sentient creatures.

Since both forces originated from two completely different plains of existence, _Magic_ and _Chakra_ have remained separate entities from one another. It was a well-known fact that anyone who practiced _chakra_ was unable to learn how to use _magic_, and anyone who practiced _magic_ was unable to utilize _chakra_. Consequently, anyone who wielded _chakra_ was unable to effect beings or beasts who possessed _magical based abilities_\- as _magic_ was immune to the foreign force's effects. This was due to the mystical nature of the energy, as it didn't register the same way as chakra did, nor did it share the same chemistry. Not even close.

Anyone who tried to bridge the two together, ended in catastrophic failure.

There was only one breed of people in the world that could master both simultaneously- and those were _**jinchuriki**_\- people blessed with the raw, regenerative chakra of biju spawned from Kaguya Otsutsuki's life force, who were also mutated through multiple rituals in order to be able to wield the two forces in the same body. This allowed them to battle monsters and men from worlds across the multiverse, as well as effectively fight back against the evil forces that threatened the communities on the continent.

These jinchuriki- trained in special schools that used the biju as their respective sigils- became known as _**Ryōshi**_, specialist monster hunters and slayers, who were responsible for giving rise to the greatest warriors in the world. Over the last thousand or so years, the job transformed from a steady career for members of these schools to an eventual way of life.

This of course leads neatly along to Naruto- a prodigy fighter, the youngest Ryōshi to ever be produced, and member of the _School of the Fox_\- the legendary group who used the famous Nine-Tailed Kitsune- Kurama- as their sigil. Members of this troop travelled everywhere from the west coast to the east islands but were best known around the southern nations and _Hi no Kuni_ (Land of Fire).

Their group also had a long-standing association with _Konohagakure_, which as Naruto would find out was a relationship that still held true today.

After making it down the main road towards the Southern Gate, the blonde saw that the archway was currently under the careful watch of a pair of Chunin sitting inside the guard box. Noticing that they were presently chatting to a passing farmer traveling in on a horse and cart, the blonde Ryōshi figured he wouldn't bother them and tried to walk past.

It was only when he crossed the threshold that he suddenly heard one of the men speak up.

"Oi! You there! Where do you think you're going, kid?"

Stopping in his tracks, the scarred, whiskered hunter let out a sigh and turned, watching as the young man with the brown hair and bandana sauntered out of the post and over to him. When he moved to stand in front of the boy, the Chunin in the shinobi vest and uniform placed a hand on his hip.

"This might be new to you, lad, but all travellers going in and out of the village need to check in at the guard post," Izumo began as he got a good look at the visitor, watching as he reached up and pulled down his hood. "All goods and documents need to be inspected as well. The only ones exempt from this procedure are… are…" He then trailed off, shaking his head when he noticed the child's blonde hair, red eyes, the twin katana at his belt, and the small fox staring at him from his shoulder. "Wait… are you-"

Naruto, smirking at the befuddled expression that came over the man's face, then let out a chuckle. "Forgotten my face already, Izumo? Damn. Has the endless days of gate watching duty finally gotten to you?"

It was then the Chunin finally snapped out of his funk with a surprised exclamation, "N-Naruto?!" When he saw the boy nod, the young adult grinned. "Ah! It's you! Geez, kid! I almost didn't recognize you in that get-up."

"Yeah. Sorry about that," Naruto chuckled, at the same time shrugging at the armoured shoulder plate he was sporting. "I had this one made while I was passing through _Tsuchi no Kuni_ (Land of Earth). Guess I shouldn't have walked in with the hood up."

Izumo shook his head as a result and gave the youngster a genuine smile. "Wow. It's been a few months since you were last in the village. Still alive and kicking, I see."

"In a way. Had a few close calls though, but nothing major," Naruto answered, before then pointing at his face and gesturing to the scar across his whiskered cheek. "On the other hand, I managed to get a few new scratches to add to the collection."

"I can tell," the Chunin remarked, letting out a breath before nodding to the youngster. "Must've had quite a number of adventures while bouncing from country to country. Monsters giving you trouble?"

Naruto shrugged, "Every day."

"That's putting it mildly," the little fox perched on her partner's pauldron remarked, earning a chuckle from Izumo.

Upon greeting the little kitsune with a courteous bow, the Chunin then looked between the two before addressing the hunter once again. "So, what brings you two back to Konoha? Gonna stick around for a while… or are you just passing through?"

"Remains to be seen," Naruto answered, before then gesturing towards the town just up the main path. "Word on the highway is that you guys are having a monster problem. People have been… _disappearing_? Did I hear that right?"

Smile fading, Izumo quickly recalled the events that'd taken place recently and nodded. "Aye. They have. Though I haven't gotten many details about it, they say that several kids across the village have just vanished into thin air. A couple from the academy too. It's almost like they've been… spirited away or something."

"Hm. Sounds like quite the predicament," the jinchuriki commented, before then giving the man a brief wave. "I'll go up to see the old man. Maybe he'll have some more details."

Giving a nod of understanding, the Chunin then saluted the child good naturedly as he began marching up the path. "Good luck, kid. Keep safe."

"Thanks."

After an exchange of pleasantries, the Ryōshi was able to carry on into town without a fuss. When he eventually passed through the edge of town, the blonde saw that very little had changed in the time he'd been away. Aside from a couple new buildings, all the shops, restaurants, and landmarks he'd come to identify from the hidden leaf village had remained largely unchanged and unrenovated. The square where _Ichiraku's Ramen_ stood, the famous bar where his number one favourite food on the entire continent was served, was still there- right where he remembered it was.

He made a mental note to stop by to grab some dinner after his mission here was done.

As he continued to follow the main road to the other end of the village where the administration sector stood, Naruto couldn't help but notice that the civilians that were currently out and about were giving him multiple glances of surprise and whispers of awe. Though it'd been a while since he was last in town and in public, thanks to the reputation he'd built over the years, the equipment he was sporting and the unique mutations he displayed, almost all the adults and children in the community recognized who he was right away.

Though most of the remarks and statements he managed to pick up through his heightened senses were in respect and admiration of his profession, there were unsurprisingly one or two elders and adults who made several disgusted comments when they caught sight of him. While Naruto's job had indeed managed to keep many people safe in multiple prefectures across the continent and earn him a good standing with many leaders, there were still a lot of villagers out there who regarded his kind as an aberration. A stain on humanity and a freak of nature that shouldn't associate with "decent folk."

As upsetting as it was, Naruto was more or less used to this kind of scorn. It created an interesting balance in his life between both his social life and his work life.

Anyway, upon disregarding the many spiteful remarks he heard on his way down the street, the boy soon came within sight of both the _Hokage Tower_ and the _Hokage Monument_\- both of which peeked through the gap between the buildings running along the road on either side of him. Smiling when he caught sight of the familiar edifices, the hunter adjusted his swords and quickened his marching pace, till he was eventually climbing the stairs to the top of the village's red keep.

Upon entering the tower and passing through the hallways, the child eventually happened upon the entrance to the office. Sensing there were a couple of people on the other side, Naruto waited for a moment as he listened in, before being forced to side-step when the door opened suddenly.

"This is taking too long!" a man with pink, cherry-blossom shaped hair shouted as he exited the room and walked ahead at a hurried pace- turning the corner so fast the tail end of his top whipped against the door handle. "I know our little Sakura is around the village somewhere! She must be! There's nowhere else she could've gone!"

"We'll find her, honey. Don't worry," a woman with dirty blonde hair and wearing a white qi pao dress exclaimed as she followed in the man's footsteps. "We just need to keep a clear head… and think positive. If we don't find her, then I'm sure the Hokage's shinobi will. Just be patient."

"No! I can't wait anymore! I'm going out to look for her again! And I'm not gonna stop until I find her!" the man barked back while continuing to walk briskly down the hall, not even bothering to look back.

As the pair and their voices disappeared down the hall, Naruto- who had been behind the door at the time it'd burst open- stepped out from around it and blinked after the retreating figures.

"They must be the parents of one of the children who disappeared," Kurama whispered, looking up at her partner at the same time with a concerned look on her snout.

"Yeah," Naruto whispered back, his voice breaking momentarily as he sensed their presences vanished. From the way their hearts were racing, and the way their voices were trembling, the boy knew that the two of them were incredibly distressed. What loving parent wouldn't be?

Figuring he'd waited enough, the child with the twin katana at his side and jacket stepped in through the door and swung it closed behind him. The moment he stepped into the chamber, across the shimmering floorboards and in front of the wide, open window looking out over the village, he saw the familiar, wrinkled face of the town's oldest and most respected shinobi. Seated behind his enormous desk with a pile of unopened scrolls beside him and his robes looking a bit creased in places, the tired face of one Hiruzen Sarutobi peered up from under the rim of his cap, where he immediately spotted the familiar, blonde form of Naruto sauntering towards him.

Upon recognizing the cheerful smile under the boy's scarred mug and bangs hanging over his cheeks, Hiruzen felt a new smile tug at his cheeks. "Naruto-kun. Good to see you. I didn't know you were in town. When did you arrive?"

The child chuckled as he stopped before the desk and slipped a hand behind him. "Just rolled in. Came up from the southern peninsula chasing up a few contracts that'd been posted a while back and hadn't been answered. Had a bunch of clients to deal with." He then bowed politely to the elder as Hiruzen stood up, the chair scraping loudly against the floorboards as the old man slowly made his way around his desk. Naruto then addressed the scrolls piled up nearby. "I can see the paperwork is still keeping you busy."

"Oh, this?" the Third Hokage chuckled while gesturing to the lot sitting next to him. "This is just the warmup round for this morning. Budget reports. Counsel requests. Stock takes. The usual. And this is all before the new slew of mission requests start pouring in." He then paused next to the boy that was about half his height and beamed down at him- taking note of both his newly acquired uniform, the scars on his face, and the fox perched comfortably on his shoulder. "But this load of paper is nothing compared to what I'm guessing you must've been through in the last month. How have you been, child?"

"Good. Though I had a few close calls here and there with a couple of monsters, things have been pretty smooth. You could even say I was on a roll. Turned over a lot of happy customers," Naruto answered politely, a smile remaining on his face as he quietly reached up to scratch Kurama under the chin- the fox giving a pleased purr as her fluffy tail wagged behind his head. After a moment, the blonde's smile faded slightly as he then removed the hand behind his back. "Speaking of jobs, while I was down in _Maiyama Farm_, I came across _this_."

Holding his hand out, the Third felt the boy deposit a large scroll in his palm. Blinking, the elder quickly unwrapped it and opened the parchment, the text of which he read had him balk in surprise. "This is… the assignment scroll I gave to Rimura Hyuuga and his team. They were supposed to report back to the southern outpost a few days ago, but neither of them showed up. Not even a carrier pigeon or messenger animal was sent," Hiruzen spoke, before then looking up at Naruto. When he saw the rather grim look reflected in his red eyes, the village leader knew right away the implications of the Ryōshi's discovery and felt his heart sink. "They… didn't make it… did they?"

Naruto shook his head. "I found their bodies ripped apart and disembowelled in a Basan nest. Their wounds suggest the beast wounded them, knocked them out, then carried the four of them to its nest to feed. Sorry to say they might have suffered a little before dying." When he saw Hiruzen glance down at the dirty scroll in his hand, the blonde let out a sigh. "Why did you do it, jiji? Why did you allow them to go on that mission?"

After allowing a moment of silence to perforate the air, Hiruzen murmured under his breath before speaking in a hushed voice. "It was Rimura-san who offered to take the job in the first place. In fact, the lad insisted upon it. When he heard how desperate the farmer requesting the mission was, he thought he and a small squad would be enough to chase down the monster terrorizing the townsfolk. Maybe drive it out of the area. He swore that if his team came across a creature that they were unfamiliar with or were unsure they could handle; he would pull out of the area and call for help. But I guess the monster got to them before he could make a decision." His lips tensing up as he clenched his jaw tightly, the Third took a few deep breaths to steady himself, before then exhaling.

Naruto, nodding in understanding of the elder's reasoning, then raised a hand as he quickly summarized his findings and knowledge. "Basans aren't like other draconid species. Though a wyvern can cause havoc to a platoon of Chunin, a single Basan can decimate an entire battalion of troops with a single fly over. Even if your men knew what they were going up against, it wouldn't have helped them in any way. To a ninja, fighting a Basan is like trying to stop a teleporting bull with their hands and legs tied behind their back." After dropping his hand and seeing Hiruzen contemplate the papers in his hand, the blonde youngster then shrugged. "If it's any consolation, I was able to avenge them."

"Hm. It's small comfort… but welcome comfort nonetheless," Hiruzen murmured, looking off to the side and sighing. "Looks like I have a couple more families to write to this morning, as well as condolence letters to fill out and visits to make later in the day. News of losing one of his clan's main family members certainly isn't going to sit well with Hiashi either. That I can guarantee." He then looked back to the boy and smiled at him. "Sorry for troubling you with this, Naruto-kun. Next time, should anything like this come up again in the mission pile, I'll have it sent straight to you by carrier hawk."

Hearing this drew a nod of appreciation from the child. "Thanks. Better to leave monster hunting to the specialists. Makes things a lot easier for everyone involved." Pausing momentarily, Naruto then tipped his head. "Speaking of which, I heard the village is having problems with one."

"Mm. You heard right. And the timing of your arrival couldn't be any more perfect," Hiruzen remarked, casting his eyes down before glancing up again. "About a month ago, the owner of the fruit store in the market square- Miyumi-san- went missing. Her husband reported her disappearance and immediately requested a team of shinobi to search for her. At first the investigating team suspected she may have gotten lost in the surrounding forests looking for new herbs and greens to sell. But as the days and nights rolled by, more and more people started vanishing- from farmers, to shinobi… to children. And each one of them vanished within three or four days of one another."

"Huh. Interesting," Naruto murmured, bringing his hand up to his chin and scratching it as his gaze cast downwards. When he looked back up, his expression tightened to one of intense thought. "I'm going to venture a guess that none of the people who disappeared are related to one another in any way."

"No. All of the victims came from different families, clans, and districts of the village. Aside from two of them, neither of the adults or children who disappeared had any association with one another. There is no pattern, character, or motive to speak of. When looking at the map of Konoha, neither of these incidents occurred in a single vicinity either," Hiruzen answered, slipping his hands behind his back as he focused his gaze on Naruto. "There is one element worth noting, however. In our investigations of the affected areas and through interviews with relatives and bystanders, we discovered that all those who went missing were last seen entering isolated places and locations out of sight of the public."

"Common as far as disappearances are concerned," Naruto remarked, before then deciding to begin broaching questions related to the cases. "What makes you think a monster's responsible for these people vanishing?"

Hiruzen raised a hand in front of him. "The manner that these people went missing and the complete absence of clues, of course. My Jonin are able to spot even the faintest of tracks left behind by other shinobi and beasts. But whatever has been snatching up people across town has left no trace, trail, or indication of its presence. The time frame between the last sighting of these people and their eventual disappearance is also frighteningly narrow. When one of the victims- a Chunin- returned to the onsen's change room to dry off- his colleague followed him a few seconds after, but then saw that he was gone. It's almost as if a ghost had taken him." The man then lowered his arm and frowned. "We also have one eyewitness who claims she may have seen something at the location of the most recent disappearance. A student from the academy- Ami."

Naruto nodded, "Good. If I talk to her, I might be able to pick up a detail you guys may have overlooked." He then gave the Third Hokage a thoughtful look. "Who were the most recent victims? And where were they last seen before they went missing?"

There was a brief pause before Hiruzen eventually came back with an answer. "Three children- two girls and one boy. The two girls- Sakura and Ino- were last seen entering a bathroom inside the academy grounds, but never came out. Ami was the one who reported them missing. A couple days later, a young Genin- Neji Hyuuga- was out on a mission with his squad clearing out a storage warehouse with their Jonin teacher. When he went into the far back to get the last boxes, he disappeared."

Sharing a look with Kurama and quickly processing the information, Naruto then gave one last nod before giving Hiruzen a firm look. "I'll look into this. But not for free."

"That goes without saying. Jobs like this are your bread and butter," Hiruzen replied with a small smile, before bowing to the young man waiting expectantly in front of him for a sum. "I promise you will be well compensated for your services, Naruto-kun. You have my word."

"Then I accept the contract," the whiskered child answered, straightening up and propping a hand over the two swords at his belt.

"Oh, before you go, here," Hiruzen quickly added, reaching behind him and pulling out a small clip, which he then dropped into Naruto's hand when he extended it to catch it. When the child looked down at the thing he was given, he saw that it was a clip of notes, all amounting to a few thousand ryo. "For returning the scroll… and completing the mission the group was sent out to perform."

"Thanks," Naruto answered, slipping the cash into his pocket before smiling up at the elder.

"If you wish to speak to Ami, she should be in class right now in the academy's main building. Third floor, room one," the Hokage answered, before slipping his hands behind his back. "I'll inform Iruka that you'll be dropping by."

With that said, Naruto exchanged one last bow with the village's most respected member, before promptly turning around and heading out of the office. Making sure to shut the door behind him as he left, the child then started a quick march down the hall and stairs, passing by a couple of shinobi heading up to see Hiruzen. Along the way, he became aware of Kurama's tail whipping behind his head- indicating that the kitsune was well and truly awake now.

"What are you thinking, runt?" the fox asked, at the same time giving her Ryōshi partner a firm look.

Clenching his jaw, the scar-faced, master hunter let out a murmur that was more troubled than confident. "Well… from what I can tell, it's not a lesser vampire or a noon wraith. Those kinds of monsters wouldn't scorn attacking multiple people directly. And considering some of these people disappeared within speaking distance of others without so much as a whisper, suggests we're dealing with a very tricky, malicious, and powerful entity," Naruto muttered, before then narrowing his eyes as he descended the stairs. "A higher vampire… or a superior spectre seem the most likely case."

Kurama's face scrunched up when she heard this. "But… aren't those creatures incredibly rare?"

"Yeah… but not unheard of," Naruto answered, his grip tightening around the swords at his side as an uncomfortable chill ran up his back. "In either case, I suspect the monster I'm hunting isn't going to be an easy one to wrangle."

In fact, judging from the information Hiruzen had already given him, the creature the blonde was set to go after was more than likely capable of killing him…

OOO

(Sometime later)

The atmosphere in Iruka's class was relatively calm at around this time of day. Considering the frightening incident that'd occurred just a few days ago, in which two of the group's members had been seemingly spirited away by some otherworldly force, all the boys and girls currently attending the lecture were still able to keep a level head, while at the same time listen in as their instructor went about revising their exam material.

Maybe it was because there were so many people gathered in the same room that the environment was so peaceful? That they had little to worry about in getting kidnapped in a public area? Or maybe it was because everyone was worrying more about the upcoming Genin exams than about some phantom that was randomly grabbing up people in selective spots across town. Point is, with so much going on at the moment, most of the kids in that room had very little fuss to make over the absence of two of their companions, and were more or less worried about getting on with the work that would decide their future courses in life.

Though one or two of the girls in the class were understandably a little shaken up over the fact that Sakura and Ino had been taken from a place they often frequented, their disappearance didn't excuse the others from being distracted. They were a tough, diligent society after all, and all the kids in the room knew that they had to expect the unexpected if they were going to survive out there in the world as shinobi.

There was also the fact that the Hokage had openly announced that he was currently taking care of the issue of the disappearing villagers. Since he had his best agents on the job, neither of the kids had any reason to fret or bother themselves with the investigations.

Still, the incidents did provide something of an opportunity for discussion- particularly around the more socially active members of the troop.

As Iruka went about jotting down notes on the board for the kids to copy down in their prep books, Kiba- who was sitting in the middle row beside Hinata- leaned over and whispered to the dark-haired girl.

"Do you think your cousin is alright?" Kiba asked, while glancing across at his friend- who currently had her arms folded and a firm look on her face. "Neji, I mean. I heard he got snatched up while he was out on a mission with his squad."

Pursing her lips, the tough-looking Hyuuga heiress didn't even bother glancing across at the scruffy Inuzuka as she continued to listen to Iruka's talk. "I'm more worried about Ino and Sakura than Neji-neesan. He's strong. He can take care of himself. Whereas the other two-"

"Hm. Yeah. They're not exactly the _strongest_ from our group. They're the exact opposite," Kiba replied under his breath, before moving back and exhaling sharply. "Even so… this phantom thing or whatever it is… it's even managed to grab a couple of full-grown shinobi. A Chunin AND a Jonin. If you ask me… I'd say we've been pretty lucky so far."

"Hmph," Hinata grunted while tilting her head to the side in a bored manner. "It's annoying that the teachers are making us go to the bathroom in threes now, instead of twos. Having to give up time for someone with a weak constitution every damn day is starting to get on my nerves."

"You can say that again," Kiba answered with a sigh. "I mean, I had to go with Choji twice this week. Sasuke and Shikamaru too. Bloody hell." The boy the scratched the top of his head, being sure to avoid scratching Akamaru as his puppy companion remained perched on his cranium. "I sure hope they catch whatever creep is doing this soon, otherwise I'm gonna have a fit."

Hinata shut her eyes when she heard the boy say this. "With the way things are going, I highly doubt it."

As the students were sitting quietly or whispering to each other as per usual, watching as Iruka finished writing down stuff on the board, the entire group suddenly heard a knock at the door. With the rap causing the Chunin and everyone to turn towards the bottom floor entrance, both the adult and the children then watched the entrance slide open.

When at first everyone thought a newcomer to the class was stepping through, everyone then frozen when they saw a boy with scars on his face, whiskers, blonde hair, wearing vagrant armour, and twin swords at his belt step through. Observing him as he ambled across the floor towards the front allowed everyone enough time to get a good look at the arrival, which in turn had many of the kids' jaws drop and eyes widen.

A clamour immediately started up amongst their ranks when they saw the blonde glance across at them and the fox-shaped medallion flash against his brown shawl armour.

"Hey. Who's he?"

"I haven't seen him around here before."

"Wait. That medallion… and those katana… is he a-?"

"Yeah. Gotta be."

"A Ryōshi?"

"No way."

"There's one here at the school?"

Catching all the usual whispers he often picked up out in the streets, Naruto made his way all the way to the front where Iruka was standing and greeted him with a nod. "Are you Iruka-sensei?"

The Chunin with the scratch over his nose smiled and nodded. "I am. Final year homeroom teacher and examiner. And… you must be the _special visitor_ Asuma-san told me about. Naruto-san, right?" The young man then pointed over his shoulder. "He came in just a few minutes before you did."

"Yeah. Got lost on the way down. Sorry," Naruto replied, Kurama remaining quietly perched on his shoulder as he turned his red eyes towards the kids sitting behind him. Quickly scanning the crowd of young, curious and surprised faces, the blonde then spoke again. "I'm looking for one of your students. Ami. Heard she was in this class."

Nodding in understanding, Iruka Umino looked towards the kids gathered in the rows and waved towards the middle. "Ami. Could you come down to the front for a moment, please?"

When everyone's eyes looked towards the purple haired girl sitting in the centre row, they saw the girl stiffen at being addressed, before rigidly rising out of her seat. Apologizing as she meekly shuffled her way out of the aisle between other students, she then hurried down the steps and stopped before Iruka and Naruto, the latter of whom stepped towards her and greeted her with a polite nod.

Doing so allowed both the girl and the rest of the academy students to see that the master hunter was almost the same height as her. However, the stark contrast in their appearances from their choice of uniforms to the weapons they were sporting made for an interesting comparison.

The boy with blonde locks was clearly the more intimidating of the two. His naturally resting scowl was more than enough to send a slight chill down a couple of their backs.

Expression remaining passive as usual, despite its ruggedness, Naruto addressed the girl with the same grace he would a normal client. "The Hokage told me that you were in the area at the time your friends Sakura and Ino were last seen," the Ryōshi said. "Could you tell me what happened?"

Swallowing nervously as she looked between Naruto and the tiny fox he had seated on his shoulder and watching her, the girl in the fishnet stockings and black shirt reached up to rub her arm. After a moment of gathering her confidence, she slowly answered. "Y-Yeah. Though… I wouldn't exactly call them friends…"

Naruto shrugged, "Anything you can tell me would be really helpful to me."

Giving a nod, the purple-haired youngster proceeded. "Well… when I spotted Sakura and Ino walking into the girl's toilets together from across the courtyard, I decided to head over to see what they were up to. Maybe I could catch them in the middle of one of their little schemes or arguments. Since the two of them really like to bicker with each other, I figured I could get a few shots in. Mess with them a little more, y'know."

The blonde cocked an eyebrow at her while Kurama swished her tail, "Are you a rival of theirs or something?"

"I'd like to think so," Ami uttered back, before dropping her hand back to her side and beginning to speak with a bit more gusto than before. When she realized the whiskered boy didn't have any ire to direct towards her, the girl was able to carry on with a more normal sounding tone. "Though the two of them fight with each other every day, I know they're still really good friends. Even when they start calling each other names and poking fun at the other's looks, neither of them really means anything by it-"

"Okay. Noted," Naruto replied, before then raising a hand and spinning it forward. "But let's try to stay on track here. What happened next?"

"Oh. R-Right. Sorry," Ami replied, blushing slightly at going off on a tangent before continuing. "A-After I got close enough to the bathroom to hear them talking to one another, I swore I heard another voice echoing from inside the room."

"A third voice?" Naruto replied, before narrowing his gaze. "There was another girl in there with them?" He didn't hear about this from Hiruzen. Nothing in fact. Maybe he missed someone.

Ami shook her head quickly. "No. It… It didn't sound like a girl. It was… more like a man's voice. Very deep and… and _gravelly_. Like it was in pain," the girl stuttered, looking down for a moment as she attempted to best describe the tone she heard. "Maybe it was some pervert playing tricks on them or something."

"Hmm… unlikely," Naruto remarked, glancing down at Kurama for a moment to see the fox look back at him with an equally troubled expression. "What did you do then?"

"Well… when I heard Ino say that she and Sakura were leaving, I went to the entrance to catch them. But as soon as I walked in, they were gone," Ami answered, looking back up at the blonde with a firm look. "They just… weren't there anymore."

Naruto frowned and focused his gaze on her. "Did you see anything else in there? Notice anything strange or off about the area?"

The girl shrugged, "Well… when I walked in, the air was really cold and tangy… and there was some frost on the glass. I thought that was pretty weird. But then it got warm again moments later and everything went back to normal." Ami appeared very perplexed by this memory. "Maybe the bathroom vents were backfiring?"

This immediately struck the blonde professional as something odd, which in turn had the whiskered hunter's fingers clench. "Doubt it." He then bowed his head to the girl in a grateful manner. "I think I've heard enough. Thanks for your time, Ami."

"Y-You're welcome," the academy student answered back, smiling back at the boy when he gave her one of his signature, small, yet dashing grins.

From there, Ami and the rest of the class watched as the blonde boy with whiskers nodded thanks to Iruka, turned, and then strolled out of the class. When the door eventually slid shut behind the young man, silence promptly reigned over the area. During which time, the teacher quietly bidding his stunned female student back to her seat, and the rest of the class simply gaped after Naruto's retreating shadow.

There wasn't a single person in the room that hadn't been deeply affected or thrown by the arrival and departure of the monster hunter. In some way, shape or form, every student had been swept off their feet, with even guys as stoic and lifeless as Sasuke and Shikamaru staring after the blonde long after he'd gone. It was only after Ami clumsily returned to her seat and sat down that life returned to every boy and girl present, with entire rows of children quickly beginning to jabber over their surprise guest from afar.

"That was pretty cool," Shikamaru remarked while resting a cheek on his palm. "In and out like a pro."

"Honestly, I thought he'd do something flashier- like teleport out of here or something," Choji whispered back, his own chin resting on his hands. "You know, since he can do magic and stuff."

"Heh," the Nara chuckled before shutting his eyes. "I highly doubt a person like him would do something as juvenile as show off."

Remarks like this started bouncing between every boy and girl, with the girls themselves being particularly vocal in how cool their visitor had looked.

Speaking of which…

"Wow… that was… something," Kiba quietly exclaimed, having remained silent and stunted just as everybody else had. Leaning back in his seat with his furry, canine companion still lying comfortably atop his head, the Inuzuka turned to Hinata and grinned. "I gotta say, I don't think I've ever seen a living Ryōshi stroll through the village before- let alone our school. That kid looked to be around our age, huh, Hinata?" Beaming at his classmate, the boy waited for the Hyuuga to respond. When a few seconds passed and nothing, the boy's smile vanished. "Uhh… Hinata?"

As it turned out, the tough-as-nails, gruff delinquent of a Hyuuga princess, who'd previously been deflecting almost everything around her for the entire morning, was currently gaping after the hunter that'd come and gone from the room in a heartbeat. When Kiba peered over to see if she was alright, the boy found to his surprise the white-eyed girl's jaw slack and her pale cheeks red like tomatoes, which in turn had him do a double-take at the infamously strong girl's strange reaction.

Heck, even her posture had become less than dignified. The girl looked absolutely blown away and mystified.

Honestly, this was the first time Kiba had seen the girl act in such a manner… and it was bewildering.

"Hinata? Oi! You okay?" Kiba asked again, this time elbowing her in the arm to try and rouse her from her funk. The act of which caused the Hyuuga prodigy to jump out of her flabbergasted state and turn to the boy next to her with an alarmed expression in play, which in turn had the Inuzuka recoil. "Geez. You stopped breathing there for a few seconds. I was worried."

Hinata, realizing how she'd been acting a few seconds following the boy hunter's departure, shook her head quickly to rid herself of her flushed cheeks. She then looked away and huffed. "I… I don't know what the hell you're talking about. Shove off."

Not exactly buying the girl's answer, yet not wanting to tease her over it, Kiba wisely decided not to press her. Instead, the boy simply smiled in amusement and looked away, allowing the girl to keep her cold shoulder on him and pout at her leisure.

OOO

(A few minutes later)

Deciding his first and best action was to visit the classroom where the eyewitness to the most recent disappearance had been holed up, Naruto had headed straight down from the _Hokage Tower_ and into the shinobi academy. Figuring that Hiruzen would use one of his super secretive, hocus pocus devices or methods to contact the teachers of the school ahead of his arrival- informing them that he would be on the premises- the youngster knew he didn't have any fear of entering the grounds and setting off alarms.

Hell, though he may look like one of the students on the outside, there was no way in hell he was one. Not even close. And to walk into an institute carrying two swords, a face covered in scars, and a talking fox on his shoulder, definitely raised a few flags in certain circles of society.

If Naruto was going to get on with his job, better to do it in peace than through interference.

With his prediction being right and his interview of the witness, Ami, passing by in record time, Naruto made short work of his stay inside the main building, and eventually headed out to the scene of the second most recent crime. Calculating that venturing all the way out to where the Hyuuga boy had disappeared would be a bit of a trek, the young hunter decided he would better focus on the area closest to him and went straight to work.

Noticing that the girl's toilets had been taped off by sealing markers and ropes- probably by the local shrine maidens at the behest of the Hokage- Naruto made sure to duck under the boundary before crossing into the lavatories. As soon as he entered the darkened room, he saw that the bathroom appeared just like any other bathroom.

It had five cubicles- each one with a recently cleaned toilet- and a line of four sinks, each with a paper towel dispenser. From the ceiling, to the windows, to the mirror, to the tiled walls and floor, everything about the place appeared completely normal. Nothing out of the ordinary to speak of. However, as the Ryōshi slowly made his way from the entrance and across the threshold, the fox-shaped medallion around his neck started to tremble, and the hairs on the back of the child's neck stood on end.

As his nostrils flared and eyes lit up red, a similar animalistic reaction was shared by Kurama. Her own hair standing on end, the little fox couldn't help but growl.

"Do you feel that?" the vixen asked.

"Yeah. Medallion is trembling to," Naruto answered, his eyes darting from left to right as he scanned the area in front of him and cautiously made his way forward. "Magical resonance. A disturbance in the dimensional wall. Something came through here recently. Something powerful." He then slowly walked forward, his posture appearing normal but his senses fully on guard. As an extra precaution, the boy rested a hand on the handle of his silver katana, which glinted in the dim light coming in through the slits above. After creeping forward a few more paces and approaching the last stall at the end of the room, the blonde paused for a moment. "Hm. There's a wall of cold air hanging here. Strange."

As both he and Kurama looked around, with the blonde exhaling lightly and watching the puff of hot air he let out fill the space before him, the child then moved towards the sinks. Glancing down at the floor, he saw through his heightened extra sensory perception two sets of footprints in the tiles a couple paces apart- both small and matching the size of two average, eleven-year-old girls.

Squatting down, Naruto got a closer look at the light red haze the prints gave off through the mould etched into the floor. Even a shinobi with Sharingan wouldn't have spotted this above the other sets of footprints polluting the crime scene. "The sudden atmosphere and temperature change left the girls' sandal prints in the floor where they'd been standing. Whatever attacked Sakura and Ino appeared in an instant and vanished just as quickly," the blonde said out loud, before standing up and looking towards the mirror above the sinks. Reaching forward, he then ran his fingers over the glass and pulled it away. "Hmm… judging from the way the sandal marks are dragged across the floor, whatever appeared to them must've come from behind. They both pivoted around to look at it… and _then_ it nabbed them."

Kurama raised an eyebrow at where the boy was looking. "It… came out of the mirror?"

"Yeah. Either as a conduit… or as an illusion," Naruto answered, narrowing his eyes as he then plotted the creature's path from the glass. Turning around, the youngster then walked towards the toilet cubicles and peered through the door. After a quick look over the last two stalls, he then walked into the last one and inspected the area. It was there he noticed the remnants of a dense condensation build up along the walls and crinkled his nose. "Melted spectre frost. The creature picked the two girls up, flew past the door, and vanished."

Looking around, the fox on the boy's shoulder frowned. "But… there's nothing here," the vixen spoke.

Medallion clicking as it vibrated against his chest had Naruto's expression tighten and fingers twitch. "Yeah. Nothing we can see. That only leaves one possible explanation. A dimensional rift."

Kurama blinked. "The monster can open portals?"

"Uh-huh," Naruto said, before inhaling deeply and letting out a raspy sigh. "Only very powerful wraiths can cause drastic shifts in temperature and open dimensional holes at will. And considering the concentration of magical energy left over and the fact that the people who've gone missing all vanished in isolated spots inside or directly next to washing facilities… I think I know what kind of spectre we're dealing with." The blonde then stepped away from the cubicle as his grip tightened around his silver sword. "The village is being haunted by an _**Aka Manto**_."

Kurama cringed when she heard this. "Shit. That's not good."

Naruto wanted to bang his head against the wall when he began recalling the information he had on this fiend. "Oh, _that's not good_ doesn't cover it, Ku-chan," he said, at the same time looking back towards the stall and the toilet occupying it. "There are only two recorded cases in history involving this particular phantom… one of which Mito-sensei dealt with around eighty years ago. Most people think that this spirit is just an urban legend, but in truth it's a very rare, very powerful, and very malicious spectre. From what I remember, the one that sensei hunted, fought, and exorcised from _Kirigakure _(Village Hidden in the Mist) back in her prime, damn near almost killed her."

After a moment of tenser silence, the fox sitting on the boy's collar frowned. "So… what're you going to do?"

Rolling his shoulder and giving his neck a stretch, Naruto then put on his usual, cheeky grin. "What do you think? My job."

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

**Bestiary:**

**Aka Manto (Red Cape)**

"_Though an urban legend speaks of this ghost haunting the Number 4 bath stall of every public facility, this is just utter nonsense. The true story behind this spectre is far more frightening." – Bestiary quote, a recount from a former Ryōshi_

Also known as _Red Cape, Akai-Kami-Aoi-Kami_, or _Aoi Manto_, Aka Manto is a violent, highly territorial, wraith-like monster that is said to dwell in bathrooms and toilets. Described as a male ghost wearing a red cloak and mask, this phantom earned the unusual reputation of appearing in public and school restrooms to prey on unsuspecting victims.

Urban legends say that if you're in the last stall, you will hear a voice asking for "blue or red paper/cape". Pick blue, you will be strangled to death until your face is blue. Pick red, you will be ripped apart till your clothing is red with blood. Pick a different colour or wait too long to give an answer… and the Aka Manto will drag your soul to hell.

The trick to outwitting it- _pick no paper at all_.

However, all of this is just urban legend and folk myth. The truth is the Aka Manto is a very rare wraith born of the hatred of someone murdered unjustly and dishonorably in the sewers or bathroom. If the body isn't properly buried, a vengeful ghost is created. The resulting monstrosity proceeds to haunt a wide area of the village the victim was killed in, marking that space as its territory.

Highly aggressive and territorial, the ghost attacks anyone who lingers inside bathrooms, washrooms, old stalls, or anywhere where the sewer lines connect- as people are at their most vulnerable in the bathroom and thus easy prey. When hunting, it sometimes taunts its victims and utters questions to test their alertness. When they let their guard down, it pounces.

The wraith is capable of shifting through spaces. When it is born, it creates a pocket dimension inside the village that serves as its lair called an _Astral Space_. It is from this personal pocket dimension the ghost is able to teleport in and out around the village, allowing it to snatch up victims from multiple stalls. It then brings the victims into its dimension, where they are bound in refuse and waste that serve as cocoons, allowing the monster to feed on their life essence at its leisure.

Acting as an energy vampire, the ghost sucks the life force out of its victims to increase its power. The more vitality it drains, the stronger it becomes.

Active, the Aka Manto is nigh invincible. The only way to truly kill it and to make sure it can't revive itself, is to free the victims it has captured and lure it out into the open by burning the corpse of the person that was murdered, thus ridding it of the body tethering it to the living plain.


End file.
